Beeler
2 total works
Each night Jim Messenger, a middle-aged accountant, watches a woman who goes by the name of Janet Mitchell, as they eat their solitary meals in the Harmony Cafe. Eventually he attempts to speak to her, and is politely rejected. Abruptly she stops coming to the cafe. When Messenger learns that she has committed suicide, he is driven to find out why.
The police tell Messenger that Janet Mitchell didn't really exist - no family, no friends and no identification. Her name is only the first of the lies that he uncovers as he traces her to the suffocating heat of a Nevada desert town. By the end, lives have been changed, a horrible murder brought to light and a quiet little community irrevocably torn apart.
The police tell Messenger that Janet Mitchell didn't really exist - no family, no friends and no identification. Her name is only the first of the lies that he uncovers as he traces her to the suffocating heat of a Nevada desert town. By the end, lives have been changed, a horrible murder brought to light and a quiet little community irrevocably torn apart.
Set in an isolated town in Northern California, A Wasteland of Strangers begins with the arrival of John Faith in Pomo. Who is he? Why has he come here now, during the off-season when there is nothing to do but get into trouble? What is it he wants? His arrival is surrounded by questions; his staying clothed in threats; his leaving fondly desired by almost all who cross paths with him. Everyone has an opinion of him; only a few of them are favorable. For everyone he helps, there are two who question his motives, who see danger to themselves and their way of life in his continued presence in their town. And then, when a beautiful, lonely woman is brutally slaughtered after spending some time with him, Faith is the prime and logical suspect. Discovering the identity of the killer becomes as important to Faith as it is to anyone else...except the murderer.