After thirteen years in prison, Talbert Micheals journeys to River's Edge, North Carolina for the long anticipated reunion with his brother, Desmond. When he gets there, a stranger tells him Desmond has met with an accident. Frantic, Talbert rushes to police headquarters? the last place he wants to see? and discovers that Desmond has been murdered. When the chief of police calls him "boy", Talbert stiffles the urge to tear the small town into shreds. He might be six foot seven, 300 pounds of rock-muscle,but in this small town of strangers, he's all alone, humbled to helplessness.
I literally could not put this book down. Talbert Micheals' poignant transformation from "jagged around the edges" ex-con, to calm, methodical avenger of his brother's death was skillfully executed by Lola Scales Boone. The transformation is so gradually and believable that Talbert Micheals is as real a person as I've ever met or read about. The lessons he learns about people and life outside of steel bars, makes Murdered Dreams compelling reading. Subplots of post traumatic stress disorder, insurance fraud, arson, and sociopathic behavior, interweave beautifully into the plot surrounding Desmond's murder. I was clueless to the murderer's identity, until at the end, my mouth dropped open. What a chilling motive for murder!
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