Key West: The Novel

Trouble is Brewing in Key West

In 1950, Stephen Trumbull was a classic hard-boiled reporter and columnist for The Miami Herald. He drank too much, and had a mouth on him. He rubbed people the wrong way. All he cared about was reporting the truth. Reporting the truth can get you into trouble.

Florida State Representative Bernie Papy ran Monroe County. He ran the illegal gambling mecca of Key West, in particular. And he ran it more like a mafia boss, than like a State Representative.

When a Monroe County Grand Jury found no evidence of Papy's corrupt control of a wide variety of illegal activities, Stephen Trumbull used the power of his uncompromising pen, and went on a crusade.

Trumbull used his Miami Herald column to write Papy into a corner.

He discovered that Papy's control of Key West was no joke, though, when two of the local "goons" left Trumbull alone in a dark alley, late one night, bleeding from a knife wound.

The local Madame, Eva - who ran a "house of ill-repute" with the full knowledge of Papy and the local Police Chief - nursed Trumbull back to health. This put both Trumbull and Eva on the warning list.

Key West is a story inspired by real events and characters, and brings a conflict of wits and wills together as it tries to answer the age-old question; is the pen mightier than the sword?

Florida State Representative Bernie Papy ran Monroe County. He ran the illegal gambling mecca of Key West, in particular. And he ran it more like a mafia boss, than like a State Representative.

When a Monroe County Grand Jury found no evidence of Papy's corrupt control of a wide variety of illegal activities, Stephen Trumbull used the power of his uncompromising pen, and went on a crusade.

Trumbull used his Miami Herald column to write Papy into a corner.

He discovered that Papy's control of Key West was no joke, though, when two of the local "goons" left Trumbull alone in a dark alley, late one night, bleeding from a knife wound.

The local Madame, Eva - who ran a "house of ill-repute" with the full knowledge of Papy and the local Police Chief - nursed Trumbull back to health. This put both Trumbull and Eva on the warning list.

Key West is a story inspired by real events and characters, and brings a conflict of wits and wills together as it tries to answer the age-old question; is the pen mightier than the sword?