The Walkaway

Noir master Scott Phillips's The Walkaway explores the far-reaching consequences of the deception and violence of its predecessor, The Ice Harvest.

Summer 1989: Gunther Fahnstiel, once a tough cop who wasn’t averse to taking a little side money from a certain madam, has just escaped the dementia ward of his Wichita nursing home. He’s not exactly sure where he wants to go, but wherever it is, it has to do with the bag full of cash belonging to the man he accidentally backed over with his RV in 1979. During his search, Gunther begins to relive the violent fallout of that madam’s sex lottery forty years ago. As Gunther’s memories unravel,
his past and present will collide in a devastating reckoning. This dark comedy, at once prequel and sequel to Phillips’s award-winning debut The Ice Harvest, proves that no walkaway can escape unscathed.

Scott Phillips is a screenwriter, photographer and the author of eight novels and a short story collection. His bestselling debut novel, The Ice Harvest, was a New York Times Notable Book and was adapted as a major motion picture starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. He is the winner of the California Book Award, as well as being a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Hammett Prize and the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Scott was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas and lived for many years in France. He now lives with his wife and daughter in St. Louis, Missouri.