Amy L. Bernstein

The Potrero Complex

Journalist Rags Goldner is battle-scarred and heartbroken after covering a devastating pandemic that rages in Baltimore for five years. She leaves the city with her partner in search of a simpler life in small-town Maryland—only to discover nothing in Canary is simple. A teenager is missing, and it falls to Rags to fight the forces of apathy, paranoia, and creeping fascism to learn the shocking truth about Effie Rutter’s fate—and the fate of thousands like her.

Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
ISBN: 9781646032501

"Bernstein sets us in a post-pandemic time just the barest bit beyond our own, on the way to a dystopia that feels too frightening and too familiar. A thoughtful, complex, well-executed novel—not a who-done-it? but a much scarier what-in-the-hell-is-happening?”
—Robert Kanigel, Hearing Homer’s Song

“Richly textured, with many evocative threads [that] explore the culture of a post-pandemic small town—a town that camouflages its disturbing secrets. A cautionary tale.”
—Kathy Mangan, Professor Emeritus, McDaniel College, author of Taproot

“A scarily prescient novel that deftly explores the fraught connections between individuality, society, public policy, and technology.”
—Courtney Harler, Harler Literary LLC

“An emotional, haunting tale leaves you with more questions than answers, and that's a good thing. A memorable and timely reminder that there are no easy solutions when fear and conspiracy feed like hungry beasts and the innocent exist simply for the taking.”
—PJ McIlvaine, screenwriter, My Horrible Year

Available for order:

B&N | AMAZON | GOOGLE BOOKS | KOBO

Amy L. Bernstein writes for the page, the stage, and forms in between. Her novels include The Potrero Complex, The Nighthawkers, and Fran, The Second Time Around. Amy is an award-winning journalist, playwright, and certified nonfiction book coach.

https://amywrites.live

Tags: Adult, Dystopian, Mystery, Thriller