In the spirit of the best of American social commentary—think Sinclair Lewis or John O’Hara—Todd R. Baker’s Secrets of Men in a Lifeboat follows the fall and rise of demoralized advertising executive and single father Luke Morrow, who fate gives a crack at the parallel life he has always wanted and believes himself to deserve. Carefully observed and cleverly plotted, Baker’s tour-de-force is at once biting and poignant, both a commentary on the misguided values of our business class and a testament to the redemptive power of parental love. I cannot recall the last time I read a volume of this length in one weekend—at least, not for pleasure—and I entirely lost track of time in the process. The dialogue is as crisp and as authentic as any in modern fiction; the pages seem to turn themselves. In short, a first-rate novel that captures the pulse of its age.

—Jacob M. Appel, author of Einstein’s Beach House

Tightly written and [...] adroit in its storytelling, [Secrets of Men in a Lifeboat] offers two finely drawn lives and a continuing mystery as to how they will overlap. The curious will wonder how it all ends [...] The novel should cause many readers to fervently seek [its] lesson.

—Kirkus Reviews

An inventive blend of fable and satire that expertly captures the complexity of the lives we lead.

—Lou Berney, USA Today best-selling author of The Long and Faraway Gone

In the multiple incarnations of Luke Morrow, the hero of Todd R. Baker's tightly drawn debut novel, we are presented with life's many interpretations of success, love, and fatherhood. One man's oscillation between two converging worlds is what gives this novel its narrative drive, and it's worth holding on.

—Elliot Ackerman, author of Green on Blue

There are many tender scenes between Luke and his son… Luke’s rise from despair [...] takes readers on a journey full of riches… A Faustian tale of a SoCal man given the choice between fame and fortune or his heart and soul.—IndieReader