Miles To Go Before You Sleep

From an email to the author:

"Dennis,

I have just finished MILES and love it...Truly, it is a wonderful novel. Sort of Catcher in the Rye meets Dangerous Liaisons."

Best,

Rachel Joiner
Acquisition Editor
Turner Publishing
www.turnerpublishing.com

Excerpts from a review at Miles To Go Before You Sleep (Kindle Edition):

"Deliciously Sinister . . .

Miles To Go Before You Sleep, by Dennis James Browne, is a riveting book reminiscent of Wuthering Heights with a Mephistophelean twist--an evil narrator who bears a chilling resemblance to Holden Caulfield. It’s one of those love stories that will keep you spellbound to the very end. With meanings on multiple levels, and multidimensional characters, this is destined to be a classic. The character of Miles Spaulding is especially the one who has the potential to be discussed and analyzed in future English literature courses.

Miles Spaulding is convinced that Clare Rothstein is his soul mate. He and Clare are childhood friends and Miles will go to any lengths to make Clare happy. At one point, Miles and Clare bring home a bird, Leopold, who has a broken leg. For Clare’s happiness, he feigns putting the bird back in the nest when he has actually put the bird out of its misery. He states, “That night she gave me a kiss. On the cheek of course, she was so happy. I never told her what really happened because even years later she remembered Leopold with that big happy smile...”

Jimmy Andreos, nicknamed “the Greek,” and Miles Spaulding are both after the same girl, Clare. While Miles is a rich mute, his father states, "Jimmy here is a straight A student and all-state quarterback. His father Frank and I are good friends." It would seem that Jimmy has all the attributes of the ideal protagonist; however, Miles, with all his imperfections, is the true protagonist of this story.

When Miles witnesses Clare and the Greek making love, the demon within him awakens and the story takes a sinister turn. Miles dedicates his life to revenge, stating, “Sometimes when you're wounded like that--real bad and so deep you think you'll die--it takes awhile to heal. But when you finally do, the scar tissue grows and protects you, like a coat of armor, and when you come back, you come back stronger, even smarter than before.” Miles To Go Before You Sleep takes yet another wicked turn when Miles gives sleeping pills to Clare while they're on a picnic, and then he rapes her.

He described the situation as, “When I was finished, I put her clothes back on. It was incredible. She looked exactly like nothing had happened. After all that work I felt sleepy myself. I put my camera and pictures away and poured another glass of rum and coke.” Miles then tries to frame Andreos in a cocaine raid, but his plan backfires and only succeeds in ruining Clare's reputation. This one act of retribution changes the lives of Miles, Clare, and Jimmy Andreos forever.

Will Miles succeed in altering the course of fate, or will Jimmy and Clare find their way back to each other? Read Miles To Go Before You Sleep to find out just how sinister Miles Spaulding is. It’s a must read full of surprising twists and turns that is sure to fully engage even the most discriminating reader."

--Todd Rutherford, book reviewer