Review
Frank Caceres, PhD, got a jolt of bad news some years ago when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but he has turned it into fodder for a very interesting new novel, Chronic Nights ($20.95, iUniverse), one heck of a thriller that begins with a man in a wheelchair crossing a speeding van's path. When the driver wakes up in the hospital, he learns that his wife and daughter are dead and embarks on a course of vengeance. Meanwhile Bill Colon has been forced to accept his MS, attending a mobility disabilities support group. He is shocked to learn that its members are falling prey to a crazed serial killer. When his brother-in-law, a homicide detective, gets assigned to the latest case, Colon feels compelled to get involved in the investigation. The question is whether they will find the killer before Colon becomes the next victim? This is a very well written and suspenseful story whose previous novels, "Because They Were" and "By Reason of Privilege" have gained him a growing group of fans. -- Bookviews.com
On the way to an afternoon concert with his family, a man swerves to avoid hitting a man in a wheel chair in the crosswalk. This simple action causes a wreck that kills the man's wife and child. Not able to get over his grief, he blames wheelchair bound men, for what he calls the murder of his family. This distorted views causes him to plot is revenge on the murder. But, he does not know who that man was that was in the crosswalk that fateful day, so any wheelchair bound man is a target.
Bill Colon is quite the accountant, having worked for the IRS. He now suffers from MS which sometimes necessitates his need for a wheelchair. His brother (in-law) Luis is a cop who drinks too much and has a miserable marriage. Rosa, Luis's wife runs a genealogy business until she crosses paths with low life criminal Ernest Thomas.
Luis harbors much resentment for Bill and secretly suspects or hopes that his brother (in-law) Bill is either the killer or will be the next victim. But as Luis and his partner solve the pattern to the crimes, Rosa decides she wants out of her marriage (and not by divorce) and Bill feels he should help catch this crazed killer, the many sub plots merge together in a heightened edge of your seat way to keep you guessing what will happen next.
Frank Cáceres writes of Bill Colon with the passion and commitment of one who truly knows as Frank was diagnosed with MS in 1996. He uses his own experiences to add the touches necessary to make the book so real you'll feel you're right there. Frank paints a picture of the disease, not in a preachy or poor me way, but in an informative, hey look at me, I am a survivor kind of way. It's uplifting and suspenseful at the same time.
CHRONIC NIGHTS is suspense with a twist. Excellent read.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.6!
Cynthia Lea Clark, Psy.D. -- Cynthia Clark, Psy.D., Forensic Psychologist and book reviewer for Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From the Back Cover
For the past seven years, Bill Colón has fought to accept his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a disease he calls The Bastard. Forced to use a wheelchair on occasion, he attends a mobility disabilities support group and is shocked to discover that its members are falling prey to a crazed serial killer--a man who targets men in wheelchairs. When Bill's brother-in-law, a homicide detective named Luis Ortiz, is assigned to the case, Bill feels compelled to become involved with the investigation.
One by one, unwitting men in wheelchairs are murdered. Although Bill doesn't want to be categorized as a man who fits the killer's profile, he soon realizes that he too is a target. Bill helps Luis pursue leads as much as his crippling disease will allow, but he has his limitations. Will Luis capture the serial killer before Bill ends up as the next victim? --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
