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A KEVIN R. TIPPLE BOOK REVIEW: Memory of a Murder by Earl Staggs With Earl Staggs known to many readers here, providing a story as well as an interview, it seemed like this would be an excellent time to provide once again my review of his book. As some of you may know, Earl and I are very good friends despite his ability to find fault with my fiction work in so many places during our monthly writer’s group meetings. Then there is also his insistence after being here for just a few years, that he is as good as those of us who were born and raised and have lived here all our lives in the great state of Texas. The sad truth is that he is probably right in all aspects. Despite all that and the problems he had had with his publisher Quiet Storm, if you can get your hands on his book, you really should, as it is a mighty fine read.
Memory Of A Murder By Earl Staggs Quiet Storm Publishing Large Trade Paperback ISBN #0-977007030 230 Pages
In Ocean City, former FBI Agent Adam Kingston has made a bit of a name for himself since he left the bureau. Thanks to a rather freakish accident, he has the ability to touch objects connected to individuals and see what has happened to them elsewhere---a sort of remote viewing. Such talent comes in handy at times, especially when the mother of his godson sends him to check on Adam.
Other than a brief image of a strange unkempt longhaired bearded man, Adam Kingston sees that everything is fine with junior. Random images often drift into the viewing of the person he is concentrating on, so he isn’t that concerned about the man. But then the vision of the strange man appears in real life and very much in the flesh. The man who gives his name as Chip Weathers believes he may have committed a murder. He has seen news reports of a body that was recently discovered buried in a basement in Baltimore. The woman died approximately sixteen years ago, which was about the same time his amnesia started. According to Chip, the doctors blame his amnesia on the shock of a tragic event. Chip believes he knew the woman and killed her and wants Adam to find out who she was and why he killed her.
In Baltimore, Detective Brenda McCort has her hands full. Not only is she working the female body in the basement case, she now has another body to deal with. “This time, a man shot, wrapped in black plastic trash bags and left in the trunk of a car.” (chapter2) He hasn’t been dead long and won’t be the last, as her cases will lead her to Ocean City and Adam’s case. Not only will they have to solve a sixteen-year-old murder case, but stop a new wake of killings based on the past.
Shifting in point of view from Adam, to Brenda, to a killer who enjoys the work way too much, this novel moves forward at a rapid pace. Both primary characters have suffered major traumas making the past a heavy and recurrent theme in the work. At the same time, both have survived and by being rich in such detail, become very real to the readers. So too is the killer who, unlike in many novels, is not a cold calculating unfeeling killing machine. While he may be a product that showcases the worst society has to offer, his motivations are clear and realistic and the killer becomes just as real for the reader.
As in a few other offering I have had the pleasure of reading from this publisher, this is a quality novel. The characters are real, the story complex and changing, and Mr. Staggs performs an excellent piece of literary deception that keeps readers guessing to the end. Fans of his numerous short stories will not be disappointed and neither those new to his work.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2006 |