Memory of a Murder [Paperback]

Earl Staggs (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 265 pages
• Publisher: Cornell Maritime Press (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870336045
• ISBN-13: 978-0870336041
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Derringer Award winning author Earl Staggs has seen many of his short stories published in magazines and anthologies. He served as Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Magazine and as President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. His novel MEMORY OF A MURDER earned thirteen Five Star reviews online at Amazon and B&N. His column "Write Tight" appears in Apollo's Lyre. He is also a contributing member of Murderous Musings and Make mine Mystery. He hosts workshops for the Muse Online Writers Conference and the Catholic Writers Conference Online and is a frequent speaker at conferences and writers groups. Visit his Homesite at: earlwstaggs.wordpress.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary, But Satisfying, June 30, 2006

By 

Frank Zafiro "River City Author" (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memory of a Murder (Paperback)

Earl Staggs' protagonist Adam Kingston is a very believable character. He has a talent of psychic ability, but it isn't a perfect talent. Rather than create an infallible clairvoyant, Staggs wrote this character in a fashion that makes him credible and by extension, it makes his psychic talent credible.

The other characters in this novel ring true as well. From the driven, single detective, the rookie detective, the dupe, the victim, the villian...all are believable characters with realistic motivations. Anyone can set up a straw boogeyman and then knock it down. Creating complex characters who can be understood (even if, as in the case of the villian(s), they are despised) is a clear sign of masterful writing.

Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memory of a Murder -A Novel by Earl Staggs, March 28, 2006

By 

P. S. Skochinski "Author" (In the high desert of California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memory of a Murder (Paperback)

Widowed Adam Kingston is a man with many memories; unfortunately, some of them aren't his own. A tragic accident left him with psychic abilities. Retired from the FBI, he quickly found out that murder has no jurisdiction. He finds himself embroiled in cases, both as a consultant for the FBI and in his personal life, and often wonders why in the world he ever agreed to the interview in Newsweek?.

Enter Charles `Chip' Weathers, a man with no memory of the past. He has a strange request for Adam, to find out if he is a young woman's killer. Adam sets out to help Chip find out about his past. But someone else seems to be interested in keeping Chip's memory a blank, permanently. After Chip is shot, Adam is more determined than ever to find out what his dark visions mean.

Brenda McCort is a Homicide Detective with the Baltimore City Police Department. She's got a knack for solving John and Jane Doe cases and knows that cases are solved by good solid police work, not psychic mumbo-jumbo. So, when a call to her boss reveals that some psychic might have information on not only one, but two of the cases she's working on, she takes off for Ocean City with a not-so-open mind.

Then Brenda McCort meets Adam Kingston and bullets and sparks fly. Brenda is determined to arrest Chip for murder and Adam is determined to keep Chip free long enough to recover his memories. Although Brenda would like to dismiss Adam's talents, she finds herself relying more and more on his visions as they try to stop the killer. . . before he strikes again.

Earl Stagg's Memory of A Murder is a well-plotted puzzle. Its twists and turns are filled with non-stop action and compelling characters all the way to the surprise denouement. Adam Kingston is a likeable guy with a wall of memories that he can't bring himself to dismantle and Brenda McCort is a tough city cop who has seen it all, and then some. Together they make a memorable team - could there be more than just a working relationship in their future?

So, grab a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut, sit back, and enjoy. Hopefully, your memory of a murder is as good as mine!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The plot is engaging, the action is nonstop, and the ending is quietly satisfying., March 14, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memory of a Murder (Paperback)

Earl Staggs has published many short stories and has piled up numerous writing awards, including a "Derringer Award" for best Short Mystery Story in 2002; was named finalist for the 2003 "Derringer Award"; and has received a "Pushcart Prize" nomination and the "Kathy Clarey Mystery Writer Memorial Award" for Best First Chapter. Staggs has served as FUTURES MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY MAGAZINE Managing Editor and as President of the SHORT MYSTERY FICTION SOCIETY. He is Mr. Short Story.

Adam Kingston is a former FBI agent who has a strange gift after a nasty injury. He is a true clairvoyant, and his newfound fame also sets him up as a target for an old and particularly nasty enemy. Kingston is also recovering from the loss of his wife, with his good friends acting as cheerleaders. When a new string of murders erupts, he is once again caught in the law enforcement net. An amnesiac homeless man named Chip appears at his door asking him to use his expertise to untangle an old family murder that he thinks he may have committed. But before Adam can uncover any real clues, Chip is shot as they leave the front entrance of the Colonial Towers after a breakfast meeting:

"Chip groaned and tried to turn over. Adam helped him. Now lying on his back, Chip's hands clutched tightly into his own stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers. His teeth were clenched, and his face contorted in pain. He muttered, 'I think I've been shot. Jesus Christ, Adam, somebody shot me.'"

Earl Staggs has a way with juxtaposing completely creepy characters with the flawed but nice guy cops. Adam Kingston is a wounded good ex-agent trying to put his life back together after the death of his wife. But with his newfound paranormal gifts, trouble just keeps coming his way. A new love slips in, not unnoticed by Adam, and that fledgling relationship has to wait for the action to cool before it can bud. Staggs takes the reader through the same pain that Adam feels, enters the bad guy's head, and manages to bring us out the other side to redemption. This is a powerful story by a writer who has honed his chops, and it shows. The plot is engaging, the action is nonstop, and the ending is quietly satisfying.

Shelley Glodowski

Senior Reviewer