A jazz musician I know used to introduce guests playing with his combo by saying, “I’ve known a lot of piano players (or drummers, or whatever) in my day, and so-and-so is one of them.”
This Thursday, Nov. 5, three authors are appearing at the Riviera Beach Library to shamelessly, nay
proudly, tout their books – and I’m one of them. My book is MURDER IN PALM BEACH: The Homicide That Never Died. It’s a mystery novel based on the sensational 1976 murder of a prominent resident of the posh, ocean-side town.
Now you’re scratching your head. Who could that person have been? Not many murders in Palm Beach. Anyone who was around at the time, or even during the 15-year aftermath of the event, read about it in frequent newspaper stories or heard it on the TV news. Still scratching? By now you’ve got a red spot. Stop. I’ll give you a hint: If you’ve driven down South A1A in Palm Beach and looked to the east side not far north of the Lake Worth bridge, you’ve seen a park named after him. Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. Richard Kreusler.
Mitt Hecher (fictional name), a local hoodlum/karate expert detested by law enforcement, is convicted and sent to prison on the basis of virtually no evidence. A politically ambitious prosecutor does the dirty work. While Hecher is in prison, appeal after appeal made by attorneys working pro bono fail, and the convict’s wife contracts a usually fatal disease.
I learned that a former newspaper colleague of mine discovered shocking information about the killer and, more significant, the man of great national importance behind it. That information, presented in the guise of fiction, never has been made public.
The two other authors in the presentation will offer the perfect foil to my book’s sordid, if engrossing, story. Ann-Marie Broomfield will talk about her book, UNLOCK YOUR HEALING BODY, SOUL & SPIRIT: A 21-Day Devotional Encounter from the Heart of a Nurse. Lynn Whitfield’s book is THE PARTY ISN’T OVER UNTIL GOD SAYS SO.
All three of us participants in the Local Author Showcase will have our books available for sale and signing. The party begins at 6 p.m. and ends when the librarian says so: 7:30 p.m. The library is at 600 East Blue Heron Boulevard, just east of the tracks parallel with Old Dixie Highway, on the north side, in the municipal complex. The event is, of course, free.