A Lingering Crime

Jack Watson is working in his yard in Scotland when two men come to arrest him for a murder in Florida. He is not given any information, the next thing he is in Florida with a public defender. He goes to court with another public defender and is in prison for 20 yeaars before he knows it. The man killed was a neighbor growing up and had molested Jack on one occasion. He was afraid of him and what he could do his whole life. He became a child advocate because of this one person. This story makes you wonder about how the system can go wrong and if not for good people willing to help where you could wind up. A very interesting read.

3.5 STARS

Jack Watson, a 65-year-old widower is arrested as he is on his knees in his garden. The police put handcuffs on him as they mumble he's being charged with murder of some man in Florida. Jack looks incredulous as he tries to tell them he has never been to Florida and he's never hear of this man.

It's only when he's extradited to Florida and actually learns who he was supposed to murder, he realizes that he does have a connection with the murder victim.

He is assigned a public defender who seems like he might be able to help . but he disappears before the trial date. The next public defender talks him into entering a guilty plea to avoid a death sentence and is automatically given a sentence of 20 years.

While in prison he meets a prison visitor who also happens to be a retired detective. Once again telling his story, the detective starts to look into Jack's case. It's obvious to him that Jack is not guilty of this crime ... but who is? And how is he ever going to prove it?

I found this an interesting read, just not particularly suspenseful or mysterious. Jack Watson is a retiree with a few medical problems, mostly with his short term memory, that is worked into the story nicely. He seemed to handle his imprisonment well without a lot of drama.

Many thanks to the author / Troubador Publishing / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This is not a big book, and can be read quickly. I liked the fact that it brings focus to an important issue of abuse and it's long term implications.

Jack Watson is in the UK, working in his garden, when he is picked up by the police. He is extradited to the US to face trial for the murder of Gary McFaul. Gary's name rings a bell, he had sexually abused Jack when he was a teen, and in the same school. Since then Jack's life changed entirely - he was always watchful, took different routes, and did all he could to stay away from Gary. The possibility that Gary could still be an abuser gets Jack to think about doing something about it.

Gary's wife reports to the police that Jack has been hounding him, and so it seems to the police that Jack has the motive. He was also in the US at that time. Jack, however, denies the allegation and claims to have never entered Florida where the crime took place. And yet, the police claim to have circumstantial evidence of his involvement.

The story moves fast and is very readable. The suspense element of it is fairly basic & simplistic though.

The story of how Jack deals with the abuse is very enlightening on how abuse can have long term implications. There is an interview with the author at the end where he explains what he wrote the book for and how in modern times authorities have to gear up to spot and prevent abuse before it happens. Social media has made the situation far worse.

I recommend this book for its treatment of an important topic in a sensitive and mature manner.