Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

He learned that it was possible to be scared and carry a burden of fear and worry and guilt, and still behave normally. – Kyle Edwards

In the summer of 1976 ten-year-old Kyle Edwards was one of millions of Americans who celebrated a landmark birthday for our nation. Looking back, however, Kyle realizes that summer also held a landmark death for him, that of his innocence.

A typical boy in rural Georgia, Kyle’s daily activities include helping harvest peanuts and sweet potatoes, playing in the corn fields, and riding his bike with abandon up and down the dirt road in front of his house. While out riding his bike one afternoon Kyle causes an accident when he speeds around a blind curve right into the path of an oncoming car. Veering sharply to avoid hitting him, the car flips repeatedly, coming to rest on its side. Kyle watches in horror as a bloody young woman emerges from the vehicle, stumbling toward him.

Terrified of the potential consequences of having caused the accident, Kyle flees to his house, hoping in that foolish way young kids do that if he doesn’t say anything it will all go away. And it seems to, because the woman he expects to stumble up to the door any minute never arrives. Stranger still, when he gets the courage to ride out to the accident scene the following morning there is no trace of the woman or the car. Little could Kyle possibly know that his trouble wasn’t over, it had only just begun. (more…)

Grant Jerkins’ debut novel, A Very Simple Crime, was released to critical praise from places such as Publisher’s Weekly, The New York Times Book Review, and Library Journal, and was also one of my top reads of 2010. Tomorrow I will be reviewing Grant’s follow up, At the End of the Road, but today I’m turning over the blog to Grant. I’ll just let him take it from here…

People are always telling me they want to write. But they don’t know what to write about. And what do I think they should write about? And I usually think to myself, well how the fuck should I know what you ought to write about? I never say that, though. No, my stock response is, “Why don’t you write a story about a dog told from the dog’s point of view?”

I always thought that was cute.

When Elizabeth White invited me to guest post on her site, I said I was honored. Then I asked her what did she think I should write about? I have a pretty good idea what she was thinking, but what she said was, “Why don’t you write a story about a dog told from the dog’s point of view?”

Probably thought she was being cute.

It’s only 625 words. When you get right down to it, most dogs don’t have that large of a vocabulary anyway. – GJ (more…)

“It was believed that only the death of someone young and without sin could appease the bad moon.” – Professor Reid

Along with the rest of the world, on July 20, 1969, the residents of Perry Hollow, Pennsylvania were transfixed by the images of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. One in particular, young Charlie Olmstead, was so overcome with excitement he begged his dad to let him go outside to look at the moon, convinced he’d be able to see Armstrong up there.

His father relented and young Charlie peddled off into the night on his bike, never to be seen again. A subsequent search turned up Charlie’s badly battered bike at the base of a local waterfall, and it was concluded by the police that Charlie had suffered a similar fate, his body washed away. A tragedy, but just an accident.

Forty years later Eric Olmstead, just an infant at the time his older brother disappeared, returns to Perry Hollow to tend to his mother in her dying days. Her final request of Eric: Find him. Find your brother. Apparently his mother always believed Charlie was kidnapped, and feeling the obligation to at least make a token effort to fulfill her request, Eric hires private investigator Nick Donnelly, whose foundation is dedicated to solving cold-cases.

In addition to being a former Pennsylvania State Police investigator, Donnelly is also specifically familiar with Perry Hollow, having previously worked with Perry Hollow Police Chief Kat Campbell on a serial killing investigation (Death Notice). Nick looks Kat up when he gets to town, and together they meet with Eric, who has discovered something interesting while cleaning out his mother’s house – a board containing a map of the state with six locations marked in red, each accompanied by a clipping from a newspaper detailing a missing child. (more…)

It’s only for a couple of days, she told herself. Just a few days. Keep it together. I can do this. – Jodie Sykes

Newly minted PhD in Psychology in-hand, Jodie Sykes is thrilled when she’s offered a chance to participate in research with Professor David Byrne, a man whose psychology textbook she used during the process of obtaining her postgraduate degrees.

Her enthusiasm is quickly tempered, however, when she learns that Byrne wants her to gather research on the treatment of institutionalized mental patients… by going undercover in an institution as a patient.

Despite her misgivings, she convinces herself that it’s not as dangerous as it sounds. After all, since she’ll be signing in as a voluntary patient if things get too intense she’ll just sign herself out.

Professor Byrne, of course, has other plans. Unbeknownst to Jodie, it’s Byrne’s intention to use her as the test subject in a study of near total sensory deprivation.

With the help of a few complicit staff members Byrne manipulates Jodie’s behavior to the point she is acting out and able to be classified as a threat to herself and others. For the “safety” of everyone involved Jodie is placed in lockdown. Except this isn’t any ordinary solitary confinement, it’s the White Room. (more…)

“Listen as if your life depended on it because you’ve entered a very strange and murky world, and things won’t be the same for you again…” – Frank Castle

Detective Chief Inspector Frank Castle knows what he’s talking about, having descended deep down into a strange and murky world 28 long years ago. When he was still a young officer Castle was involved in the hunt for the “Woodlands Killer,” so named because of the location the horribly mutilated victims were found.

Though Castle was convinced the killer was a man named Karl Black, not only could Castle not gather enough evidence to have Black arrested, but Black was able to play mind games with Castle that had devastating consequences. Determined to prove Black was the killer, Castle spiraled into an obsession that cost him his marriage, a great deal of respect among his colleagues, and very nearly his sanity.

The “Woodlands Killer” was never caught.

Now, 28 years later, a new series of killings are occurring that mimic those from long ago. His colleagues think it the work of a copycat, but Castle isn’t so sure. Especially not with Karl Black still in the area, now running a sinister cult and every bit as willing to jump back into playing mind games with Castle. This time, however, Castle isn’t alone in his pursuit of Black. His young partner, DI Jackie Stone, is ready and willing to help Castle tackle the case. But as Castle sees Stone starting to fall into the same pattern of obsession and self-destruction he went through Castle is forced to make a tough choice: pursue Black at all costs, or save Stone – and himself – from a descent into the depths of madness? (more…)

I am not the person I thought I was when I woke this morning. – Christine Lucas

Christine Lucas is having more than some existential “Who am I?” moment when she says she’s not the person she thought she was when she woke up. She honestly doesn’t remember the majority of her life.

Severe head trauma has left Christine with both anterograde amnesia, in which the sufferer can’t form new memories, and retrograde amnesia, in which the sufferer can’t remember events from the past. She literally wakes up each day as a new person, a blank slate, having to discover over and over again who she is and what happened to her.

As disturbing as that is in and of itself, once Christine starts keeping a journal of her daily activities and discoveries at the behest of her doctor she begins to realize something even more disturbing; she’s not getting the same story consistently from those around her… including her husband.

Sometimes the variations on detail are subtle, other times she’s told outright lies. With a building sense of dread Christine begins to wonder if anything she’s been told has been true, even the version of events about the accident that caused her condition to being with. Now, not only can’t Christine trust herself, she’s not sure she can trust anyone else either. (more…)

“There are enough problems in life as it is, Will. You don’t have to go looking for them.” – Laurie Magowan

That’s a lesson Will Magowan actually seemed to learn after his brief but intense stint as the Chief of Police of Haydenville, California in author Ken Mercer’s debut, Slow Fire. And though he’s out of a job in law enforcement in East on Sunset, Magowan is back in his hometown of L.A. and things finally seem to be heading in the right direction.

He’s kicked his drinking problem, is back with his wife, who’s pregnant, and has landed a job with security for the Dodgers. Of course, you don’t have to go looking for problems for them to find you, and Mercer throws a hell of a roadblock in Magowan’s path to happiness in the form of ex-con Erik Crandall.

Crandall, a small time dealer whom Magowan sent to prison during his time as a Narcotics Detective in the LAPD, is fresh out of the joint and confronts Magowan with the accusation that Magowan stole nearly a pound of fentanyl from Crandall during his arrest. Now he either wants it back or the cash equivalent… half a million dollars.

Problem is, Magowan spent his last bit of time with the LAPD in a drug induced haze and he’s actually a little fuzzy on exactly how the bust of Crandall went down. Knowing that he can’t very well tell Crandall that, and that he doesn’t have half a million dollars lying around in any event, Magowan blows Crandall off, warning him not to come around again. That goes over about as well as you’d expect it to, and with that the snowball that is East on Sunset is sent plunging on its way downhill. (more…)

Yesterday I reviewed Julia Madeleine’s latest book, the psychological thriller No One To Hear You Scream, and today I am pleased to welcome her for a guest post to share the story behind the story.

My new thriller, No One To Hear You Scream, was inspired by actual events that happened to my family and me following the purchase of a house in foreclosure. While my husband and I are city people, both born and raised there, we had this country dream about buying a house with some acreage. I’ve since learned that it’s not an uncommon dream and a lot of people who make the move to the country end up selling and moving back to the city a year later, which is exactly what we did.

After several years of planning and dreaming, in 2008 we found our dream house on a 30 acre wooded property out in the middle of nowhere. This was in the Niagara region in Ontario. The property was magnificent and I fell in love with the peace and tranquility of the place right away. There was a beach within walking distance, a mile down the road, and our property had a huge pond where our dogs eventually learned to swim. I knew immediately living in that environment that my creativity would explode.

And I was right…but it just wasn’t in the way I had expected. (more…)

“If I’d blinked, I would have missed it.” – Troy Chance

The blink of an eye. That’s just how quickly freelance writer Troy Chance’s life irrevocably changes in Learning to Swim, the debut novel from Sara J. Henry.

While on the deck of a ferry bound for Vermont, Troy sees what she believes to be a small child fall from the deck of a ferry traveling in the opposite direction. Instinctively Troy dives in and swims to where she saw the object enter the water.

Several frantic dives under later Troy discovers it was indeed a child, a boy about six years old, and she’s shocked to discover a sweatshirt tied around him binding his arms to his body; clearly the boy was meant to drown.

No one from either ferry saw the events, so Troy has to make an arduous swim to shore with the boy in the ice cold water. Upon reaching shore she can’t shake the feeling that taking the boy to the police is the wrong thing to do, and the decision she makes to take him home with her instead sets in motion a chain of events that turns Troy’s comfortably low key life upside down.

Living for the most part with no close friends, only minimal contact with the majority of her family, and involved in a relationship that’s more friends than lovers, Troy is used to moving through the world with minimal attachments. Therefore the strength of the feelings awakened in her when she saves the boy overwhelms and takes her completely off guard. In fact, Troy finds herself obsessed with the mystery of who tossed the boy from the ferry, so much so that even after the boy is reunited with his father and the police are finally involved Troy refuses to stand down on her own investigation, despite the increasingly dire consequences of her continuing. (more…)

To be effective the punishment has to be so severe as to be frightening, ten times more frightening than whatever else is driving your actions. Citizens can’t abide that level of punishment, and I understand now why the secret has been so well guarded. – Michael O’Connor

Ever imagine what would happen if all the people in prison were released at the same time? Author C.J. West has, and his latest novel, The End of Marking Time, is a look at just such a scenario.

Michael O’Connor ended up alone on the streets at age 15 and turned to a life of burglary in order to keep himself fed. He became quite skilled at his chosen profession, and was careful to never commit a violent crime. After unknowingly stealing from the home of the District Attorney, however, Michael’s luck runs out. He’s arrested, tried and convicted, and sentenced to prison.

During the course of a breakout by a fellow prisoner during their transportation to prison Michael is shot in the head. When he comes out of the resulting coma four years later the world is a very different place.

Shortly after Michael entered his coma the Supreme Court declared long term incarceration to be cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, two million felons were released. Not just left to run wild the relearners, as they are called, are monitored 24/7 via a chip implanted in their heads and an electronic ankle bracelet. Additionally, they must complete an individually tailored education program before they will be deemed reeducated and released from monitoring. Sounds straightforward and relatively benign, right? Not so fast.

As Michael quickly learns, there is more going on in the reeducation programs than the public has been led to believe. The relearners’ programs are administered via a black box connected to their TVs, one that has the capability of administering electric shocks. Further, some of the programs’ instructors aren’t above extorting favors from the relearners in exchange for assurance of good performance results. Refusal results in the lessons increasing to an almost impossible level of difficulty and no hope of ever graduating.

Additionally, in exchange for their “freedom” relearners have lost all rights. Should they be arrested for a subsequent offense there is no jury trial, no presumption of innocence, no appeal. If they’re lucky, they are returned to their program for a second chance. If they’re unlucky – or have already blown their second chance – they get sent to one of the last ditch reeducation programs… programs from which no one ever graduates because, as Michael discovers, relearners sent to those programs are subjected to experimentation and torture so severe that if it doesn’t kill them outright the person eventually goes insane and commits suicide.

Told by Michael in the first person in the form of a speech – a plea, really – he’s delivering to an unseen panel he believes has the power to set him free, The End of Marking Time is a fascinating look at a dystopian future in which the public is willing to turn a blind eye to the methods by which criminals are controlled in exchange for a virtually crime free society.

The End of Marking Time will challenge your beliefs about the criminal justice system. Are long term/life sentences cruel and unusual? If so, what’s the alternative and, as presented in the book, is it really any better or more humane? This is not a book for those who want to breeze through some mindless entertainment. Far from it. It is, however, a thought provoking read that presents questions and scenarios that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.