Author Event – Griffin Bay Bookstore

“Raggedy Man” is former islander Clyde Curley’s just-released first novel.

Griffin Bay Bookstore is excited to host a special event for former San Juan Islander, Clyde Curley, and his debut novel, Raggedy Man, Saturday, April 6, 7:00 pm at Griffin Bay Bookstore. Islanders who are acquainted with Clyde Curley as a musician shouldn’t miss this chance to hear him talk about, and read from his just-released novel.

Detectives Mathew Toussaint and Missy Owens search through the damp chill of a Portland February morning for clues about the death of a young drifter, found under one of the city’s many bridges. The victim? Ben Foeller, the errant son of Portland’s premier dynastic family. With the help of Toussaint’s bookstore-owning brother, Parker, the detectives wade through multiple clues to narrow down their river of suspects: a drug dealer, an East Coast art collector, a political radical, a used car salesman, and members of Foeller’s own family.

“This police procedural is long on character development, plotting, and atmosphere. The author… clearly loves the power of story and invokes everything from Greek tragedy to American doggerel as he weaves this tale of murder, corruption, and family dysfunction. Curley has talent for creating atmosphere and developing characters.”
– Barbara McMichael (The Bookmonger), Bellingham Herald.

Raggedy Man received Honorable Mention for general fiction at the 2013 Great Northwest Book Festival.

About the author

This is Clyde Curley’s first novel. He comes to it after a lifetime as an avid reader and deep appreciator of fiction of all sorts. Clyde earned a B.A. and a California Teaching Credential at San Francisco State College (followed later by an M.A.T. from Portland State University) and went on to a 31-year career teaching high school in Oregon. He chaired the English Department at Milwaukie High School and taught Special Ed. Language Arts to ninth-graders and Honors Survey of English Literature to twelfth-graders. An avid folk musician, he resides with his wife, Susan, in Bellingham, Washington.

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