Flashbulb Memories

The place: Manchester, NH. The time: the 1960s. In a once-booming mill town huddled on the banks of the Merrimack River, teen-age girls are getting murdered. Nora Donovan, whose only worry had been about the loss of heaven and the pain of hell, now worries every time a passing car slows down or she catches a stranger's stare. Her detective father assures her that he'll nail the killer, but he doesn't deliver on his promise. Nora soon suspects that her father is incompetent, her religious faith is of little help, and that no one is coming to save her. The novel, based on a real-life serial killer who terrorized Manchester, could be a gruesome read, but its humorous characters save the day: glamorous Aunt Kathleen, miscreant Uncle Danny, one-eyed Father Smith, and know-it-all older sister Moe. The authors vividly portray the dangerous allure of the sixties, the casual hypocrisy of the nuns and priests, and the bombshell effect the murders had on a conservative New England city. Flashbulb Memories is a tale of lost innocence, resilience in the face of fear, and the redeeming power of family love.