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CRUCIAL JUDGMENT
by Al Blanchard
A Steve Asher Mystery
ISBN: 0-9741685-3-X (307 pages) $19.95
Jacket Blurb:
Steve Asher, an eighth grade U.S. History teacher at North Middle School, spends his summer learning more about the judicial system than he ever wanted to know. Being the only one who believes in Elena Thompson's innocence on a jury of seven other men and four women is hard enough. But two weeks later, after the trial is dismissed because of his unwillingness to vote guilty, a letter arrives from Elena, thanking him.
Questioning his motives and unwilling to listen to his better judgment, Asher sets out to prove to himself, and everyone else, that he'd made the right decision. But the citizens of Good Harbor will go to any lengths to prove he was wrong.
Including murder.
Excerpt:
Elena picked up a stone and skimmed it along a grassy
field into the fog. Her shoulders relaxed and she seemed loose, like she didn't
have a worry in the world. Her expression made her appear younger and more
beautiful.
She looked over her shoulder at me. "What are you
smiling at?"
"I thought people only skimmed rocks on The
Andy Griffith Show.
She giggled, probably the effects of the bourbon.
"Well, this town sure isn't Mayberry."
"I remember when I was a boy," I said.
"Probably eight years old. I was walking in the woods, whistling some
Beatles song. I threw a rock at a tree and accidentally hit a beehive. Bees came
flying, looking for the person who disrupted their lives. I pointed to a woman
who was walking near me, but they weren't buying it."
"Did they sting you?"
I nodded. "That was the day I learned to
dance." I shook my hands in the air like I was moving to some invisible
music.
"I know how those bees felt," Elena said.
We walked in silence for a few minutes. I couldn't keep
my eyes off her and it made me uneasy.
Author Biography:
Al Blanchard is the author of numerous short stories and two mystery series. Mystery writer William Tapply stated Blanchard's first novel, Murder at Walden Pond, was "an intriguing puzzle and an insightful commentary on human nature."
(photograph
by John Harrison)
Blanchard has lived his entire life in Massachusetts. He has traveled widely, once driving across the United States on Route Twenty. He has visited Europe numerous times. Before becoming a full-time writer Al owned an art gallery, a music store, a restaurant, taught computer literacy to blind adults and geography to seventh graders in a public school. Currently he lives in MA with a music collection that has grown to alarming proportions.
visit Al's website at www.alblanchard.com
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