Diary of a Small Fish

By: Pete Morin

Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright

When Paul Forte is indicted by a federal grand jury, everyone suspects prosecutor Bernard (don’t call him “Bernie”) Kilroy has more on his mind than justice. Then the FBI agent in charge of Paul’s case gives him a clue to the mystery: Kilroy is bent on settling an old family score, and he’s not above breaking the law to do it.

Paul is already dealing with the death of his parents and divorce from a woman he still loves. Now, with the support of an alluring grand juror, Paul must expose the vindictive prosecutor’s own corruption before the jury renders a verdict on his Osso Buco.

©2011 Pete Morin (P)2014 Pete Morin

Entertaining and humorous legal mystery.

Any additional comments?

Diary of a Small Fish by Pete Morin is a wonderful legal "cozy" mystery. It's hard to classify this book because it is not a true mystery that normal cozy mysteries entail, but it has all the humor and familiarity of one. The story centers on Paul Forte, who is a charismatic, well-connected, former politician. After testifying at a grand jury, Paul soon finds himself on the receiving end of an indictment from a corrupt US Attorney. The "mystery" is: why is this US Attorney after Paul, whose only crime is playing golf with lobbyists at some of the most exclusive courses in the world?

What is most appealing about Paul is that despite being raised in a privileged community, he is an ordinary compassionate guy. He falls in love with a blue collar artist, and is one of the most trustworthy person most people know. His motto is "play by the rules, love your comrades, and never cheat."

I listened to the Audible version of this story, which was narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright. He uses a variety of voices, giving all characters their own unique voice. His narration brought the characters to life, completely drawing me into the story. Great job!

Ethical Quandary

(Disclosure: I received a free copy of the audio book from the author. I figure since this book deals with ethics issue, I need to put the disclosure front and center!!!!)

This is the first book I have read by this author, and I really enjoyed it. As a public employee, the philosophical debate between what is unethical behavior vs voting your conscience is relevant. We have had discussions in the past about what is okay to accept - is it okay to accept a cup of coffee, but not a bottle of water? In this case, it is interesting to ask the question as to whether it was unethical for Paul to vote for bills that would provide benefits to those who provided him with free rounds of golf, even though he was voting his conscience. Personally, I think it would be more of an ethical dilemma and disservice to the public if he voted against his conscience just to make himself look better.

The book had me laughing out loud in some places, and there was one really touching part as well. I like how he incorporated a love interest without making it so mushy that it detracted from the rest of the story. The narration was excellent and definitely added to the story.

I would read another book by this author.

Perfect narration for great story

I had purchased and read Diary of a Small Fish last year. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed the humor and legal wrangling. Since it was written in the first person voice of the main character, Paul Forte, I had a little difficulty, as a female reader, staying in the story.

Nonetheless, when the author offered the audio book on Goodreads I was anxious to give it another go. I am so glad I did as the narration by Keith Sellon-Wright is absolutely perfect for the main character. Mr. Sellon-Wright also did a superb job of conveying the character when he narrated female character dialogue.


Small Fish is a very enjoyable book and the Audible version takes the story to a whole new level. Kindle version purchased and Audible version received from the author. My opinion is my own.

Good People on Dangerous Ground

Diary of a Small Fish is the story of (what I think) is a good although somewhat naive person treading in dangerous ground, and getting into trouble over it. I've always felt the whole US "lobbyist" concept something akin to quasi legalized corruption. I honestly don't understand it, so I am probably just showing my naivete as a someone with only a vague understanding. But at any rate, the lead is an ex back bench-er in a politically appointed position at the transit authoroty, working for and with some very, very, VERY questionable people, and also having spent his time in office friends and golf buddies with a large number of lobbyists taking free games of golf and meals, and then (unexpected to him) ends up in trouble.

His situation brings a level of awakening to the character, and questions the nature and grayness of political corruption, the concept of intentional bias vs subconscious bias to those you'd consider friends (in this case often lobbyists). In reality, the story turns up a huge amount of real, intentional corruption from other parties.

The whole situation with his ex-wife and new girlfriend was very well handled. Aside from the outcome, their behavior to each other was to me very moving. I would like to think that there are people that good in reality, and that I myself could be like that. :)

The book was very well written, linear, and easy to follow. The narration by Keith Sellon-Wright was fantastic, and a real pleasure to listen to.

As a novel, this was a very enjoyable and engaging story. As an audiobook, it was a fantastic listening experience.

A Small Fish With Big Problems

Overall, I would say this is a very solid story. The main character is likeable but flawed, and through his own self-questioning you get a clear picture of "both sides of the story" (i.e. whether or not he actually did something wrong). The story, like many legal or political thrillers, is a slow-burn with time passing between things happening - which I suppose is a lot like real life. The characters, situations, and reactions are all very believable. As the story gains momentum you'll find it hard to put down. The narrator did an excellent job differentiating characters and keeping the emotion in the moment always present.