Now in paperback!

Welcome to
Sunset City:
Where Retirement Comes with a
Body Count

All Joe Brown wanted was peace and quiet.  What he got was a murder case, a love triangle, and a gang of geriatric vigilantes. Welcome to Joe’s new normal.  

2025 NIEA Finalist for Humor and Fiction (SE)

MEET THE AUTHOR

Douglas M. Bales: Turning decades of legal experience into sharp, satirical fiction

Doug Bales didn’t just practice law — he survived it, sharpened by years in Florida courtrooms, conference rooms, and real estate deals gone sideways. A recovering attorney with a wicked sense of humor and a talent for storytelling, Doug now channels his war stories into wildly entertaining fiction where the only thing more colorful than his characters are the legal loopholes they stumble through.  <More>

"I didn’t set out to write a murder mystery. I just started typing what I’d experienced, and someone ended up dead."

a "peek" inside my latest book

One Quiet Gig.
Then Somebody Died Loudly.

Florida Man:
(Technically a lawyer)

Bar-licensed, sunburned, and barely holding it together.

Romance, Red Flags
& Really Bad Decisions

Turns out "just dinner" never ends well.

Murder Hits the HOA

The only thing more dangerous than bylaws? Motives.

Justice Gang, Activate!

Step aside, Matlock...
the retirees have clues.

Joe's Retirement Plan:
Don't Get Arrested

He's out of court, but not out of trouble.

It All Ends in the Clubhouse

Because of course it does.

"This is the author's best work to date! I am so proud of him!"

The Author's Mother

testimonials?

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