Police Chief Luke Johnson, widower and parent of twin boys, struggles to restore law and order when confronted by abductions and murder in Somerset, Indiana, his home town. This mystery novel takes us from the Midwest to South America and back, strewing victims of abductions and murders in its wake.
Four individuals independently arrive in Somerset and impact Chief Johnsons life. Gino Ciavatta, from NYPD, is hired to bolster Somersets police force. Lauren Hubble flees an abusive relationship in Nebraska. Ryan Bolger, youth pastor, seeks solace and employment. Aaron Carver follows Lauren to Somerset.
Three attractive women in Somerset vie for Luke Johnsons affection: Amelia Conroy, CEO of the small citys largest company, often invites him to escort her to company dinners and dances, hoping to spark his interest in her; Marci Stewart, twin sister to Lukes deceased wife, wonders if he will ever fall in love with her; Lauren Hubble relies on Lukes congenial nature, and her lack of familiarity with Somerset, to win him over. Luke is hesitant in each instance. He believes he has not yet recovered from his wifes death four years earlier.
Mark, one of Chief Johnsons twelve-year-old twin sons is kidnapped. Luke receives a ransom note: Got your kid. You will never see him alive again. Vengeance is mine!
Moses Feltner, an old man living on Sugar Creek, sees a man acting suspiciously in Pine Hills Forest Preserve and reports it to Chief Johnson.
Lukes other son, Matt, armed with only a baseball, faces the kidnapper. Matt has to deliver a perfect strike, or lose his twin brother forever, and his own life as well.
About the author
Growing up in Montgomery County, Indiana, Williams had long been intrigued with the area around Shades State Park. While an undergraduate student at Wabash College, he spent his summer months at the park maintaining trails. He became intrigued with the history of the park and its surroundings.
Williams and his wife used to canoe on Sugar Creek with friends back in the 1970’s and still canoe and camp out near Deere’s Mill Bridge and Pine Hills Forest Preserve each summer with their children and grandchildren.
Local lore has always intrigued him and place names such as Devil’s Backbone, Devil’s Punchbowl, and Shades of Death heightened his fascination with the area. Several years ago Williams acquired a copy of a book titled Shades of Death and Other Poems written by Dr. Joseph P. Russell and published posthumously by his family in 1901. Dr. Russell, who died in 1893, served as a family physician in Waveland and the surrounding area for over half a century. Included along with poems in the book is “Shades of Death” purported by Dr. Russell to be a true narrative.
Russell wrote that Devil’s Backbone, Shades of Death (now known as Shades State Park), and Pine Hills serve well to perpetuate traditional superstition in regard to these sequestered localities. One passage in his book refers to a superstitious dread that the Devil had been buried there and nothing was left of him except the backbone which was petrified into solid gray and white limestone.
Taking literary license, Williams created a fictitious small city, named it Somerset, and geographically placed it where the actual town of Waveland is located. Vengeance Is Mine, his second novel, is set in Somerset and is a sequel to Devil’s Backbone.
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