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“Memory of a Murder ”

written by Harriet Klausner on 11/01/2006

Memory of a Murder

Earl Staggs

Quiet Storm, 2005, $15.95

ISBN: 0977007030



His long time friend Ellie "the worrier" Russell wakes up former FBI Agent Adam Kingston because she has not heard from her college age son Phil in two days. Using his psychic skills, Adam tells her that his godson is fine partying in Daytona; he will tell Phil Sr. the rest of the story about his son scoring. However, he also found hanging out with Junior and his pals a disheveled long haired bearded man much older than the college students.



Not long afterward, the odd looking man arrives at Adam's home asking for help. Chip Weathers suffers from amnesia but fears he may have killed someone in Baltimore sixteen years ago; the same time and place he suffered the memory laps that his doctor claims was caused by a shocking incident he needed to forget.



Baltimore Detective Brenda McCort investigates the female found in a basement dead for sixteen years. She also has a present day homicide involving a murdered man "buried" in trash bags inside the trunk of a car. Her investigations lead her to Adam in nearby Ocean City, where they team up to solve homicides that surprisingly tie together, though years apart, and hope to prevent more murders from occurring.



This fast paced who-done-it deftly switches viewpoints from Adam, Brenda and the killer, so that the reader gains a full picture; interestingly all three have suffered from ordeals in their past that still weigh heavily on their souls; they just cope differently as their motives are clear whether they try to solve homicide cases or kill. Fans of strong paranormal police procedural investigations will take immense pleasure from this strong character driven thriller.