Scout's Honor

By: John McNellis

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

After losing everything but his life, a young man forges a new identity for himself in the jungles of Vietnam and on the gritty streets of New York in this epic and riveting tale of crime, punishment, and redemption.

"A wild and sweeping thriller." - Chris Matthews, Veteran MSNBC anchorIt's 1969.

Devastated by the loss of his parents, 19-year-old Eddie Kawadsky is alone and penniless, his dream of becoming a navy pilot seemingly lost. In desperation, Eddie falls in with the charismatic Roy Cross who talks him into smuggling drugs across the border.

Once in Mexico, Roy betrays Eddie, setting him up to be murdered. On the run from vengeful narcotraficantes, corrupt cops, and his own demons, Eddie flees for his life, changes identities, and-as Richard Austen-joins the Marines, serves two heroic combat tours in Vietnam, and then hides himself in New York City. Over the ensuing 25 years, Eddie becomes one of Manhattan's wealthiest real estate developers, but one haunted by his sins and secrets.

When a long-dreaded visitor finally shows up to extort hush money, Eddie is forced to confront his past. To save his own life and protect the beautiful wife he adores, he must sacrifice nearly everything. But will it be enough to redeem his honor lost so long ago?

With an intricate plot spanning the 1960's counterculture, the Vietnam War, 1970's gritty New York real estate world, the grandeur and hardship of the Marine Corps, and more, Scout's Honor is a sweeping novel of suspense that explores larger themes of morality, guilt, trust, and redemption. Populated with flawed yet compelling characters, Scout's Honor will appeal to fans of both character-driven literary fiction, thrillers, and redemption tales.

©2024 John McNellis (P)2024 John McNellis

Great Performance

I enjoyed listening to the book. The character development was a bit lacking, especially over the span of such a long period of time. The main character’s inner voice/view of himself wasn’t consistent with someone who had the confidence and intelligence to accomplish as much as he did.

Fast-paced, Funny and Suspenseful!

What a fun book! It’s an enthralling thriller that delivers a punch of crime, redemption, transformation and humor. The novel centers around a young man who has to reinvent himself as a marine and a developer after a deal with cartels does not go as planned. As a veteran and an avid reader I would recommend this to anyone who wants to listen to an author who can describe a setting in such a way that you can actually feel it (Mexican prison- no thank you) and flushes out characters in a way that you actually understand their motivations. The author goes from SoCal, to Vietnam and to New York with ease and colorful language. I listened to this while training for a half marathon and it kept me running for longer than I planned, and I hate running. The narrator is excellent and gets the tone of the book precisely.

Fun story with colorful character and fantastic voice acting

Such a fun story - It's light hearted and fun all the way though. It's rare to have a novel where you really connect with and care about so many of the characters - the protagonist is lovable despite his flaws and you're always hoping for his chance at self-redemption and the side characters are all fun in their own unique ways.
Top notch voice acting as well. Do yourself a favor and give this novel a listen!