I've just completed the umpteenth draft of an addiction/recovery/redemption novel titled The Cardinal House Affair (also has a mystery subplot). I'm ready to query this 75k-word piece, but I'm having difficulty finding a good comp(s) because most addiction/recovery books appear to be non-fiction. Can anyone recommend a Contemporary Fiction comp that has some similarity to the query letter summary below? A "this-book-meets-that-book" approach would work as well.
SUMMARY Maine lobsterman FRANK SLATER sits in a bleach-stenched county jail with dimming hope that he can find an in-state addiction rehabilitation program in which to serve his plea-bargained twelve-month sentence for his role in a tragic highway crash. Death seems preferable to the alternative of three years in Maine state prison, away from his beloved grandfather and his home on Mackerel Cove. Three weeks later, Frank begins his recovery odyssey in Cardinal House, an unorthodox addiction treatment center run by addicts in ‘remission’. Frank is confident that his fierce fisherman’s grit can withstand the program’s harsh philosophy and its pugnacious leader CLAUDE DUBÉ’s unforgiving scrutiny for a whole year, but he's dubious about making it to graduation if his unwitting entanglement in a crime committed by other residents is unveiled. However, none of this will matter if he cannot settle with the demons that led him here and become the stand-up person of his young dreams.
I've just completed the umpteenth draft of an addiction/recovery/redemption novel titled The Cardinal House Affair (also has a mystery subplot). I'm ready to query this 75k-word piece, but I'm having difficulty finding a good comp(s) because most addiction/recovery books appear to be non-fiction. Can anyone recommend a Contemporary Fiction comp that has some similarity to the query letter summary below? A "this-book-meets-that-book" approach would work as well.
SUMMARY
Maine lobsterman FRANK SLATER sits in a bleach-stenched county jail with dimming hope that he can find an in-state addiction rehabilitation program in which to serve his plea-bargained twelve-month sentence for his role in a tragic highway crash. Death seems preferable to the alternative of three years in Maine state prison, away from his beloved grandfather and his home on Mackerel Cove. Three weeks later, Frank begins his recovery odyssey in Cardinal House, an unorthodox addiction treatment center run by addicts in ‘remission’. Frank is confident that his fierce fisherman’s grit can withstand the program’s harsh philosophy and its pugnacious leader CLAUDE DUBÉ’s unforgiving scrutiny for a whole year, but he's dubious about making it to graduation if his unwitting entanglement in a crime committed by other residents is unveiled. However, none of this will matter if he cannot settle with the demons that led him here and become the stand-up person of his young dreams.
Much appreciated!
Steve Pinette