Lion in Love

by David Moloney

On the streets and outskirts of Lowell, Massachusetts, three lives unfold, each shaped by longing, risk, and the weight of the past. Misty survives on a highway off-ramp, reading palms and performing the tricks her mother taught her, while trapped in a dangerous relationship with Dean. When he enlists her in an extortion scheme against a city councilor, Misty is forced to confront the threat he poses to everything she holds dear. Grant tends his Christmas tree farm and maintains a quiet arrangement with his widowed neighbor, Pamela— until grief and longing intrude, disrupting the careful balance of their lives. Meanwhile, Billy interprets the world through his father' s a lion who surrendered his teeth and claws for love, only to be destroyed by the vulnerability he offered. Lion in Love interlaces these stories across a working-class cityscape, exploring how loneliness shapes desire, the risks we take for connection, and the price of loving without defenses. David Moloney' s second novel is a haunting, tender, and unflinching exploration of desire, danger, and the fragile courage required to survive intact in a world that tests the heart.

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 9, 2027