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Len Joy had an idyllic childhood, growing up in the gem of the Finger Lakes, Canandaigua, NY. His interests growing up involved sports. He went off to college with dreams of becoming a football hero and world famous novelist.
Didn’t happen. He switched his major from English to Finance, quit the football team, but married one of the cheerleaders – Suzanne Sawada.
They moved to Chicago where Suzanne became a corporate lawyer and Len, with his MBA and CPA, became the auditing manager for U. S. Gypsum. Despite the thrill of auditing gypsum plants, Len wanted a different challenge.
He bought a manufacturing company in Arizona and commuted to Phoenix. Despite the travel, he managed to have three kids. While flying, he read hundreds of novels, which renewed his dream of becoming a world famous author.
In 2004 he wound down his business and started taking writing courses and participating in triathlons.
His first novel, AMERICAN PAST TIME was praised by KIRKUS as a “darkly nostalgic study of an American family through good times and bad, engagingly set against major events from the ‘50s to the ‘70s as issues of race simmer in the background…expertly written and well-crafted.”
His second novel, BETTER DAYS was described by FOREWORD Reviews as “a bighearted, wry, and tender novel that focuses on love and loyalty.” KIRKUS called it “a character-rich skillfully plotted Midwestern drama.”
Today, Len is a nationally ranked triathlete and competes internationally representing the United States as part of TEAM USA.
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
Better Days by Len Joy is an action-packed thriller. The FBI wants to talk to Darwin Burr. Why? His best friend Billy has disappeared and the FBI needs Darwin to help them find him. He’s happy in his life with a beautiful Latvian wife, Daina, a great house, a job helping coach his daughter’s high school basketball team. Who could want for more? He didn’t reckon on Fariba Pahlavi, the flirty coach, and he didn’t reckon on turning up his wife’s secret past, a past that threatens her life. He’s fallen hard for Fariba but he can’t leave Daina and their daughter, Astra. As the hunt for Billy begins, Darwin starts to find out things he wished he never knew. With the FBI’s sights set on him, and his wife taking on a teenager whose family is being targeted by gangs, Darwin’s quiet life is about to undergo major disruption. Can laidback, happy-to-let-the-world-drift-by Darwin cope? Can he find Billy? Or is all hell about to be let loose and turn his life upside down?
Better Days by Len Joy is a fast read, highly entertaining and written in the first person by our main protagonist, Darwin. Packed with action, Better Days takes us on a journey with plenty of twists, some humor thrown in for good measure and a great plot that just keeps you reading. This is more than just an action story. It explores and deals very well with the issues of betrayal, loyalty, gangs, racism, and trust. It is a unique plot that starts off on a steady note but be prepared; it soon revs up and takes off at high speed, leading you through the twists and turns of a shady life as Darwin begins to uncover secrets and lies he wishes had stayed buried. It has some incredible characters, rich, colorful and entirely relatable; this is an exciting story written from the heart by a very talented writer. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it is highly recommended for anyone who wants to lose themselves in a great adventure.
