S Craig Zahler: 2 books

A distraught businessman kills himself after a short, impolite conversation with a detective named Jules Bettinger. Because of this incident, the unkind (but decorated) policeman is forced to relocate himself and his family from Arizona to the frigid north, where he will work for an understaffed precinct...

Born from tragedy, the purple-mouthed, white-haired, misshapen child Hug inspires both ire and pity at the orphanage, until the day an eccentric oldster adopts him as a pet. The upbeat boy's spirit is challenged in his new home as he is repeatedly exposed to the prejudice of society. Will Hug and his astronautical dreams survive our cruel and judgmental world?