Deborah will speak and sign books on Jan. 11 at 6 pm at the Beaches branch of the Jacksonville Public Library (600 3rd St., Neptune Beach). This community event is free and open to the public.
The novel opens in 2020 as two teenage brothers—sneaking out of Covid quarantine to surf at the beach—discover a severed human hand in the sand. This damning piece of evidence sparks a journey that takes readers back to the 1948 murder in Pittsburgh of Noelle Grace Huber, a twelve-year-old girl stabbed 36 times while home alone, her parents having gone out for the evening. No one was ever charged for the murder. The Writer suffers deeply from a childhood fraught with her mother’s terrifying obsession of her best friend Noelle’s unsolved murder, and as a result, lives a lonely life, unable to trust people. The novel masterfully connects The Writer to The Wife, whose husband and children go missing several weeks into the pandemic lockdown.
Writing in real time and place as she quarantined at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Palm Beach, Florida, Deborah uses this isolated setting to intensify circumstances for both The Writer and The Wife. The story unfolds in the women’s alternating narratives as The Writer becomes hell-bent to discover Noelle’s killer, while The Wife unravels because her strong passions have led her to make dangerous, impulsive decisions. As the women suffer Florida heat and humidity, along with the psychological desperation of lockdown, they are propelled toward collision.
Deborah Goodrich Royce is the author of the widely praised psychological thrillers Ruby Falls and Finding Mrs. Ford. An acclaimed actress, perhaps best remembered for her role as Silver Kane, sister of legendary Erica Kane on ABC-TV’s soap opera All My Children, she later worked as a story editor for Miramax Films where she was instrumental in developing Emma and A Wrinkle in Time. I have attached press materials for Reef Road, a novel that probes our ability to escape the past, and look forward to your response. Please let me know if you would like a review copy.
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Glenn is the founder and publisher of First Coast Life. He is also a wonderful storyteller. Born on the 4th of July, he spends his spare time taking his camera and exploring everything beautiful this region offers with his rescue dog Callie by his side. He loves meeting new people and capturing the many beautiful moments and amazing local stories that showcase the true spirit of the area.
