L3K

A government official goes head-to-head with the crew of a radical ecological outpost in this striking new novel about hope, resilience, and the human spirit, perfect for fans of Wild Dark Shore and The Light Pirate.

Ella Powell is efficient, focused, and not easily rattled. As a human relocation specialist for the US government, she is assigned to L3K, a chain of abandoned oil rigs off the Louisiana coast that have been retrofitted as ecological habitats for endangered species. Her mandate is simple: Shut L3K down. She has five days to secure the biologists’ compliance and arrange new accommodations for those who call the facility home.

But the L3K crew has no intention of abandoning their work—or the animals they’ve pledged to protect. Backed by millions on social media and led by head biologist Graham Flanagan, they mount a spirited resistance that Ella is unexpectedly moved by. As the deadline looms and the stakes become painfully clear, she finds the line between her orders and her conscience blurring in ways she never anticipated. 

Ella has always known where her duty lies, but is Flanagan’s cause one worth reimagining her future—and her heart—for? And if they can’t save L3K, does that future even exist? 

• "L3K is a riveting, fast paced novel about the future of our environment. Walsh pens a story both tender and epic about the choices we make. This book asks big questions about the world we want versus the world we've made. Suspenseful and thought provoking, readers will immediately want to share L3K with their book clubs."
  Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of The American Daughters
• "L3K is a vibrant and vital ode to the natural world as it once was/B>and as it could be again. L3K is not just the name of a remote nature preserve—in the story of this unforgettable outpost, Walsh has managed to capture the best of South Louisiana/B>the beauty, the indefatigability, and the heart."  
  Emily Nemens, author of Clutch
• “You know it from the start—this is an important book. M.O. Walsh's L3K is at once suspenseful and earnest, imaginative and intelligent. What do we do in a time of scarcity? What do we do in a time of uncertainty? We look outside of ourselves, we summon inner strength, and we hold on to what is there. This is a climate fiction novel that's told with power and empathy. Walsh is one of our very best storytellers.”
  Olivia Clare Friedman, author of Here Lies
• "M.O. Walsh's love for Louisiana and the Gulf Coast is palpable, and his prose is fluid with both the poetry and the brutality of the region. L3K reads like a warning shot fired across the coastland, for man and animal alike. A striking read from a seasoned writer who is aware of where we are and where we're going."  
  Michael Farris Smith, author of Desperation Road
• Previous praise for M.O. Walsh
  
  "Walsh has an innate knack for plot and suspense, but the real pleasure here is his prose."
  Entertainment Weekly
• “M.O. Walsh’s writing—stewed in secrets and Southern humidity—pulled me in, and his ending made me want to pull the reading equivalent of a U-turn to double back and reread from the very beginning.”
  NPR
• “Recalls the best of Pat Conroy: the rich Southern atmosphere, the interplay of darkness and light in adolescence, the combination of brisk narrative suspense with philosophical musings on memory, manhood, and truth. . . . Celebrate, fiction lovers: The gods of Southern gothic storytelling have inducted a junior member.”
  Kirkus Reviews
• “Walsh’s brand of comic tenderness is the perfect soother for these troubled times. . . . Like Thornton Wilder or Edgar Lee Masters, those other masters of the small town collective portrait, Walsh probes the secrets at the heart of individual lives and reminds us to look long, listen hard, and offer compassion.”
  The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
• “[Walsh] eloquently explores the idea of second changes and makes the surreal seem achingly and poignantly authentic.”
  Augusta Chronicle