In Dr. Galen's Little Black Bag, we follow the man that Berto Galen has become, as he deals with the pleasures, traumas, and tragedies of life in the medical profession. Like Berto's World, it is a collection of stories, but together those stories create a portrait of someone who is deeply dedicated to healing—even as he struggles to heal the hurts and wounds that he has suffered over his own lifetime.

The chance discovery of a dead woman on a dingy river bank in New Jersey changed the life of 8-year-old Robert Galen forever; it propelled him into a lifelong study of medicine, beginning under the sage counsel of his mentor, Dr. Agnelli. In turn, his medical career led him to two ill-fated marriages and one would-be recaptured romance. Then, alone and in near despair, Galen found a new reason for being, in his old friend Bob Edison, along with his patient wife, Nancy, and in the three, orphaned Hidalgo children, whom he rescued from the wrath of a hurricane. Together, the six—and a host of other injured souls—attained solace living at Safehaven, the often-miraculous refuge perched on the side of a mountain in the endless hills of northeastern Pennsylvania. R.A. Comunale chronicled this deeply human saga in his first two novels, Requiem for the Bone Man and The Legend of Safehaven, both of which won him widespread praise for his vivid characters and sharp insights into the human condition. Now, in the long-anticipated third installment of the series, Comunale brings the residents of Safehaven together once more, perhaps for the last time.

These stories follow Dr. Robert Galen, aka Berto, as he traverses the memories of the tenement neighborhood of his youth and those that resid. Meet the Mad Russian—why does he always carry a meat cleaver whenever he goes to get a shave from Thomas the barber? Then there's Giuseppe—Joe the Junkman—who roams through a neighborhood too poor to throw anything away. There are the Old Guys, veterans of the Great War, one a radio repairman who returned home with shell shock, the other a shoemaker with nothing below the waist. There's Mr. Buck, the clockmaker, who shares a secret with his young apprentice. There's the Candy Lady, who isn't so sweet, and the little Jewish dentist who defeated the Nazis but falls victim to Cupid's arrow from a most unexpected direction. Be sure to meet Sal, Tomas, and Angie, Berto's pals who help him confront life's greatest mystery: the opposite sex. And above all there is his mentor, Dr. Agnelli, who along with a dead lady sets Berto along his life's path. Come and meet them—and all of the unforgettable denizens of Berto's world.

The sequel to R. A. Comunale's highly praised first novel Requiem for the Bone Man follows the continuing story of Dr. Robert Galen and his friends, Robert and Nancy Edison, as they adjust to semiretirement on a mountaintop in northeastern Pennsylvania, raising and caring for the three orphaned Hidalgo children they rescued and adopted. Along the way, the six residents of the mountain interact with a variety of individuals—human and animal—who also are seeking sanctuary, and even redemption, on the property that becomes known as Safehaven. In ways mystical, magical, and even heroic, Comunale once again envelops readers in a fictional world that is often harrowing, but always captivating.

Requiem for the Bone Man is a moving, compelling first novel, told with the assurance and skill of a born storyteller. It is also a meditation on the art of healing, as seen in the adventures of its unforgettable central character, Dr. Robert Galen. From his youth as a street-smart son of immigrants to his career as a gifted physician, Galen is tough-minded yet compassionate. Above all, he is deeply human, willing to risk the pain of loss and failure that inevitably comes to those with an unshakeable commitment to a vocation and to friends and loved ones.

Augustus "Gus" Belmont was your typical commercial airline pilot. Late 40s, divorced with one kid, he lived life as he saw it. The only problem: he was dying. And, Gus was a Rat. Kristin Belmont was Gus's daughter—smart, beautiful, a college senior with the entire world ahead of her. She was not a Rat—though she could see and talk with ghosts. Gus faced his mortality with ticked off stoicism, but he really wanted closure for two 25-year-old mysteries: Why did his one true love disappear before their marriage? Was he guilty of causing another Rat's death? Shoes contains love, murder, mystery, ghosts, the Civil War and Vietnam, and a soupçon of the great military college, Virginia Military Institute with its Brother Rat Cadet Corps.

Galen of Pergamon, was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher. The most accomplished of all medical researchers of antiquity, Galen contributed greatly to the understanding of numerous scientific disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and neurology, as well as philosophy and logic. Galen's understanding of anatomy and medicine was principally influenced by the then current theory of humorism, as advanced by many ancient Greek physicians such as Hippocrates. His theories dominated and influenced Western medical science for more than 1,300 years. Medical students continued to study Galen's writings until well into the 19th century. Galen conducted many nerve ligation experiments that supported the theory, which is still accepted today that the brain controls all the motions of the muscles by means of the cranial and peripheral nervous systems.