John A. Roynesdal Reviews

Added June 12, 2007

Living In Darkness

A Phillip Michael Carnegie Mystery

Author: John A. Roynesdal
Publisher: StarBooks
Available At: www.starbookpress.com
Publishing Date: Available now
Genre: Fiction: Crime/Thriller
Format: Trade Paper
Price: $16.95
ISBN-10: 1891855867
ISBN-13: 978-1-891855-86-3
Reviewer: Kathy Martin
Rating: 6 Gargoyles

In our world today, we are constantly reminded of all the social injustices (such as prejudice) that are taking place. After a while, I believe, the general public gets weary of hearing of this “evil" every day, and stops listening. That is why books like, “Living in Darkness," are important. The story itself is fiction, but it reminds us of how dark our human soul can get by mistreating those that are different than we are.

Honolulu Police Department Detective Phillip Michael Carnegie is faced with three gruesome murders to solve. What he finds most confusing, though, is that the murders all took place near a section of Diamond Head that is frequented by homosexuals. The thing is – none of the victims were gay, but possibly part of a gang that had been brutally “bashing" gays at the park.

In order to solve the mysteries, Carnegie must explore the gay world of Honolulu, including the dangerous world of young, gay runaways. The worst part is Carnegie is working against time. From what he learns along the way, there is still one more victim out there.

Author John. A. Roynesdal has skillfully written a book that interweaves a murder mystery with the horror of prejudice in the form of “gay bashing."

I must admit that the author’s writing style was hard for me at times. I felt that some descriptions of what characters were thinking were a bit jumbled and hard to follow. Additionally, I had a hard time following some of the dialogue. Specifically, as to which character was talking when.

However, I found the structure of the mystery and the depth of the characters to be intriguing, and that kept me reading. I myself was not sure who had done it until the last ten pages. And that is what makes this a good book.

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