Annie's Bones

In the fall of 1967, Grayson Melvin met the girl of his dreams. Annie Lineberger was so far out his league that he felt like she was playing an entirely different game, but somehow he won her affections. He couldn't believe his good luck while it lasted. They both were 18, but Grayson was a baby, and Annie had been around. She was beautiful, smart and funny. When she told him she loved him, he would have died for her, right then and there.

Instead, Annie died or at least disappeared from the face of the earth. On the same night when she broke Grayson's teenage heart by giving him his walking papers, she vanished.

Everyone believed he killed her. Without a body, though, nothing could be proved. And so Grayson Melvin lived his life. Kicked out of his university, he went from the Army and Vietnam to bartending to another college to newspapers, where he discovered that Annie s well-connected and vengeful family still had the power to step into his stunted life and punish him.

Then, in the spring of 2016, Annie reappears. Our at least her bones do, dug up by a backhoe operator clearing land for a strip mall in a small Virginia town. Grayson, now teaching at a community college in Richmond and creeping toward retirement, is back in a spotlight he has tried to avoid for all his adult life.

With the court of public opinion almost unanimously against him, Grayson goes back to North Carolina to try to make the past go away, with disastrous results. Then, he gets a call. A woman he doesn't know in a town where he's never been has found a ring his high school ring last seen in Annie Lineberger's possession. Grayson Melvin has one chance to prove his innocence, by chasing a ghost and figuring out what happened on that long-ago night, the one when he lost Annie.

Annie’s Bones (Murder Mystery)

By Howard Owen

The Permanent Press

ISBN #978-1579625221

Price $22.19 (Hardback)

Price $9.99 (Kindle)

224 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Case That Will Keep The Reader Guessing”

I was given a copy of the book for an honest review. While excavating an industrial property for a new mall, human bones are unearthed. Bones that reopen a five-decade old murder mystery. The bones prove to be those of a missing college girl named Annie Lineberger, from a wealthy family. The suspect in the case was her college sweetheart, Grayson Melvin. He could not be prosecuted at the time because there was no body, but he was assumed guilty regardless. Now that there is proof of murder, the family wants the case continued, and Grayson must prove his innocence.

This is a well-written mystery of a cold case file, as the story jumps from present day back to 1967 and we follow Melvin searching for clues to clear his name or find the real murderer. Although this is a stand-alone novel, the reader is treated to the appearance of reporter Willie Black, the author’s main protagonist in another series of novels. Willie and other citizens come to Grayson’s aid even though everything points to his guilt.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE COBRA

The Bottom

The Bottom (Murder Mystery)

By Howard Owen

The Permanent Press www.thepermanentpress.com

ISBN #978-1579623920

Price $28.00

208 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Masterful Tale of Murder And Mystery.”

Richmond, Virginia is going through some growing pains at the moment, as an ex senator, now a building contractor, is trying to build a business center on the site where slaves were buried and the black community is up in arms. Newspaper crime reporter, Willie Mays Black is on their side, but he and the ex senator have a past connection that goes back to when the ex senator was caught in bed with a 14-year-old girl, and Willie helped ruin his political career. The ex senator is looking for reasons to sue the newspaper because of Willie and their stand against his building project. But Willie has other problems at the moment. The fourth victim of the Tweety Bird killer was just found at the train station, and Willie is working on that case. The victims are all young girls, runaways, raped and tortured, then tattooed with the image of Tweety Bird on their ankle before they were killed. Willie thinks that maybe the ex senator is the guilty party due to his preference for underage girls. Now, the lawsuit may bring a stop to his investigation.

This was another fantastic Willie Black murder mystery in his little community of Richmond. The author recently retired after 44 years as a veteran newspaper man, and knows the inside and outs of newspaper work The reader is pulled into the story, and the characters come alive; the reader may even want to drop by Penny Lane for a couple of beers and a Camel with Willie, listening to his tales of growing up on The Hill, while he’s taking a break from the office. This is a masterful tale of murder and mystery, and Willie Black isn’t afraid of stepping on toes – publishers, police or perps. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories
Night To Dawn Magazine http://bloodredshadow.com 

Parker Field

Parker Field (Mystery)

By Howard Owen

ISBN #978-1579623616

The Permanent Press www.thepermanentpress.con

Price $28.00

224 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Topnotch Mystery”

Willie Black, a Richmond, Virginia newspaperman, is divorced and sharing a room with an old childhood pal. His mother is usually high on drugs, but caring and loving. She is living with a gentle old man, and they have a vagabond druggie living with them. When the old man is shot near the apartment where Willie lives, he’s one of the first on the scene. Why would someone shoot a 79-year-old man, who has never said a bad word about anyone? In truth, Les Hacker was closer to a real father than his real dad or previous stepdads. With Hacker in the hospital, Willie has to look into the case for the newspaper.

Les Hacker had played at Parker Field with the minor league baseball team in Richmond. His last game was in 1964. Willie finds a clue that all of the team members have met with mysterious injuries or death. Only two members are still alive, and one of those, Les Hacker, has just been shot. The police have arrested a suspect, a homeless veteran living in the park, but Willie has some doubts about his guilt.

This was a darn good mystery, even though we were given enough clues to figure out what was going on, as well as the motive. Readers will figure who the killer is, but Willie has to bring everyone along with him as he runs down surviving family members, supposedly while writing an article about the old minor league team. In actuality, he’s looking for a motive and who could be behind the mysterious deaths. Personally, I would have preferred less language, but this is a topnotch mystery, and the characters come alive. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories