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Mitch Mayhew Stories #1
Unwanted Passenger: A Mitch Mayhew Story
Men's Adventure Fiction May Contest First Prize Winner!
Buckle In. Light the Fuse. Fly Like Hell.
Unwanted Passenger is a roaring, prop-spinning, pulse-pounding historical thriller for fans of aerial stunts, flapper-era intrigue, and reluctant heroes with debts to pay and demons to outrun.
Meet Mitch Mayhew, a down-on-his-luck pilot with a war-tested heart and a wallet full of IOUs. Flying under the banner of a bootleg airfield in the Prohibition-era Midwest, Mitch scrapes by doing stunt gigs and risky mail runs in a plane that still bears the scars of battle.
When the Chicago PD come knocking, Mitch is roped into flying a sealed envelope- a delivery bound for Denver that could bring down the infamous Meadows Gang. The job? Dangerous. The pay? Barely worth it. The catch? A mysterious passenger, a plane with a thirst for gas and ghosts in her bones, and a sky full of secrets.
Mitch Mayhew
Authentic barnstorming and dogfighting flair
Sky-high suspense and crackling dialogue
1920s grit, glamour, and swashbuckling swagger
A mission that starts with mail and ends in mayhem
If you love the daring of The Rocketeer, the grit of Indiana Jones, or the punch of a great pulp novel, THIS is your next must-read.
One pilot. One envelope. One last chance to fly straight-or crash and burn.
Buy now and climb into the cockpit with Mitch Mayhew. The engine's running. The sky's calling. And the fight is just beginning.
Buckle In. Light the Fuse. Fly Like Hell.
Unwanted Passenger is a roaring, prop-spinning, pulse-pounding historical thriller for fans of aerial stunts, flapper-era intrigue, and reluctant heroes with debts to pay and demons to outrun.
Meet Mitch Mayhew, a down-on-his-luck pilot with a war-tested heart and a wallet full of IOUs. Flying under the banner of a bootleg airfield in the Prohibition-era Midwest, Mitch scrapes by doing stunt gigs and risky mail runs in a plane that still bears the scars of battle.
When the Chicago PD come knocking, Mitch is roped into flying a sealed envelope- a delivery bound for Denver that could bring down the infamous Meadows Gang. The job? Dangerous. The pay? Barely worth it. The catch? A mysterious passenger, a plane with a thirst for gas and ghosts in her bones, and a sky full of secrets.
Mitch Mayhew
Authentic barnstorming and dogfighting flair
Sky-high suspense and crackling dialogue
1920s grit, glamour, and swashbuckling swagger
A mission that starts with mail and ends in mayhem
If you love the daring of The Rocketeer, the grit of Indiana Jones, or the punch of a great pulp novel, THIS is your next must-read.
One pilot. One envelope. One last chance to fly straight-or crash and burn.
Buy now and climb into the cockpit with Mitch Mayhew. The engine's running. The sky's calling. And the fight is just beginning.
90 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2025
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Terrance Layhew
9 books62 followersTerrance Layhew is one part Indiana Jones, one part James Bond and a dash of Shakespeare. He's an author and part time swashbuckler who hosts Suit Up! With Terrance Layhew Podcast.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 12, 2025
What a fun read!
It's the 1920s, and Mitch Mayhew is a former WW1 pilot who now works as a airplane mail carrier, earning just barely enough to survive on. On a flight to Denver, he carries some legal documents that will help convict some bad guys, making him a target. What follows is plenty of high-octane action including aerial dogfights and hand-to-hand action on the ground. To complicate matters, a beautiful blonde gal boards his plane but as to why she would pay for a flight vs a train ride is a mystery to Mitch.
This is a nice tight adventure story, reminiscent of the pulps from the 1930s and 40s. It makes for a great story that can be read in one sitting and yet has all the hallmarks of longer works. It's not surprising that it won the Grand Prize of the May 2025 Men’s Adventure Fiction Contest sponsored by publisher Veritas Entertainment. Happily, there is a second story featuring Mitch and his air adventures. I'll be turning to that one next.
It's the 1920s, and Mitch Mayhew is a former WW1 pilot who now works as a airplane mail carrier, earning just barely enough to survive on. On a flight to Denver, he carries some legal documents that will help convict some bad guys, making him a target. What follows is plenty of high-octane action including aerial dogfights and hand-to-hand action on the ground. To complicate matters, a beautiful blonde gal boards his plane but as to why she would pay for a flight vs a train ride is a mystery to Mitch.
This is a nice tight adventure story, reminiscent of the pulps from the 1930s and 40s. It makes for a great story that can be read in one sitting and yet has all the hallmarks of longer works. It's not surprising that it won the Grand Prize of the May 2025 Men’s Adventure Fiction Contest sponsored by publisher Veritas Entertainment. Happily, there is a second story featuring Mitch and his air adventures. I'll be turning to that one next.
June 29, 2025
Terrance Layhew (https://terrancelayhew.com) is host of the popular "Suit Up!" podcast and blog that features his interviews with action/adventure, crime and new pulp authors. He's also a writer himself, whose novella UNWANTED PASSENGER: A MITCH MAYHEW STORY was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Men’s Adventure Fiction May Contest sponsored by publisher Veritas Entertainment. Layhew’s novella is both a descendant of classic pulp magazine tales and a sign of more recent trends in publishing. The main character is a former World War I pilot named Mitch Mayhew, who now makes a living as a mail carrier. On one of his mail delivery flights to Denver, he’s asked to carry legal documents needed to convicts members of a murderous gang and also take along a lovely young female passenger whose reasons for paying for a flight via mail plane are a mystery. As Mitch starts to take off, a group of thugs toting machine guns tries to shoot down his plane. They fail — that time — but don't give up. The rest of the story is a well-crafted pulpy chase and survival yarn that's great fun to read. It has the flavor of a story from one of the classic "airplane pulps" that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. But Layhew's writing style is clean and fresh and this 85-page story is an example of a recent trend: action/adventure "books" that are short, fast reads. I greatly enjoyed UNWANTED PASSENGER and highly recommend it. I'm also a fan of Layhew's podcast and blog and his longer new pulp style adventure novel ONE MAN'S TREASURE. I give them all hearty thumbs up. The fact that Layhew’s UNWANTED PASSENGER novella is subtitled “A MITCH MAYHEW STORY” suggests there will be more featuring that character. Bring ‘em on, Terrance! I look forward to them.
June 27, 2025
Unwanted Passenger: A Mitch Mayhew Story is exactly the kind of story I enjoy. It has the vibe of going to see an old movie from the 1940s. You can practically hear the newsreel voiceover introducing a rugged pilot on a dangerous mission. The book has a great vintage airplane feel, complete with barnstorming stunts, dogfights, and all the grit and risk of early aviation.
If Indiana Jones and The Great Waldo Pepper had a stepbrother, it would be Mitch Mayhew: a war-scarred, witty, sky-hopping hero who just can’t seem to keep trouble off his tail. The action is tight, the prose is punchy, and the atmosphere is rich with Prohibition-era intrigue.
For fans of pulp adventure, golden-age cinema, or just a good old-fashioned thrill ride through the clouds, Unwanted Passenger is absolutely worth the ticket.
If Indiana Jones and The Great Waldo Pepper had a stepbrother, it would be Mitch Mayhew: a war-scarred, witty, sky-hopping hero who just can’t seem to keep trouble off his tail. The action is tight, the prose is punchy, and the atmosphere is rich with Prohibition-era intrigue.
For fans of pulp adventure, golden-age cinema, or just a good old-fashioned thrill ride through the clouds, Unwanted Passenger is absolutely worth the ticket.
January 8, 2026
An adrenaline rush from beginning to end. Mitch Mayhew is The Rocketeer and John McClane all in one. A fun adventure that will have you begging for more. Terrance Layhew is one of the best writers going today.
September 29, 2025
Just a great fun romp of a ride. A 1930’s adventure pulp raging back to life. If you were a fan of The Shadow or The Avenger be sure to check this out
December 21, 2025
An absolute epic read. Mitch Mayhew is officially one of my favorite book characters. I highly recommend this read. You won't be disappointed.
November 17, 2025
Mitch Mayhew rockets off the page with the swagger of Steve Trevor and the charm filled mischief of Han Solo and I was immediately hooked. The story drops you straight into the Rocky Mountains of the roaring twenties where a simple flight turns into a storm of danger, double crosses, and secrets tucked inside a very important envelope. Mitch is courageous, bold, daring and just sarcastic enough to make every tense moment feel like a thrill ride. He is the kind of character you root for because he is clever when it counts, steady under pressure and somehow still able to crack a grin while people are shooting at him. The whole thing plays out like an old movie newsreel with smoky intrigue and sky high stakes.
What I love most is how this novella uses its tight space to deliver pure adventure without a single wasted beat. The pacing is urgent, the action is constant and the emotional pull sneaks up on you in the best way. It is cinematic and vivid and gives you the full rush of a big story in a small package. When I turned the last page I was already ready for the next flight with Mitch because this first taste of his world left me eager for more danger, more charm and more wild sky bound fun.
What I love most is how this novella uses its tight space to deliver pure adventure without a single wasted beat. The pacing is urgent, the action is constant and the emotional pull sneaks up on you in the best way. It is cinematic and vivid and gives you the full rush of a big story in a small package. When I turned the last page I was already ready for the next flight with Mitch because this first taste of his world left me eager for more danger, more charm and more wild sky bound fun.
July 19, 2025
Terrance Layhew's novelette Unwanted Passenger reminds me of watching an old black & white serial on TV when I was a kid. A throwback - in the best sense of the word - to the rip-roaring days of early aviation. Mitch Mayhew, a WWI veteran now makes a living as an airmail carrier. On one of his flights, he agrees to secretly carry legal documents needed to convict vicious gang members. Add a young female passenger along for the ride and it's soon a deadly mix of intrigue and danger. Great fun!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews