“Agent for Justice”
By Duke Southard
418 pages
Wheatmark Publishing
This compelling suspense novel by a local author revolves around a young, gifted and idealistic educator who collides with the real world of imperfection and inequity.
Brad and his wife, Josie, met and married when they were new teachers in the early ’60s in Hampton Village, Conn. On Friday afternoons, they would socialize with their colleagues at the local pub. After a drink or two, Brad would occasionally go off on a rant about something he considered unjust, such as the death of their colleague Tyler in Vietnam or the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Though confused by these angry outbursts, Josie dismisses them as just part of Brad’s passionate personality.
When unfortunate circumstances result in the death of their unborn child, Brad attempts to hide his rage and bury his grief, but they simply fester beneath the surface. Josie grows distressed by Brad’s increasingly menacing disposition, and after years of growing mutual distrust, they separate.
Josie finds happiness in her work and new relationships. Brad, having been forced from his job by school district politics, chooses a life of solitude allowing his “dark periods” to increase in number and intensity as he promises to exact justice.
Life isn’t fair. This book, now available in paperback and ebook, demonstrates that lesson from its riveting first chapter to its shocking surprise ending.
— Bonnie Papenfuss
