Review by Gingerdawn posted on the Barnes and Noble web site.
A murder Mystery and good fiction are often parallel to a true crime of some nature. Burl Barer writes with accuracy, a settled grace, and imagery that gave this reader several nightmares!
Sarah Weinman wrote, "Crime fiction spends a great deal of time sorting through the chaos to find some order, a sense of resolution for the often inexplicable madness of murder. Real crimes, however, don't work that way. Evidence is misfiled, suspects evade arrest on technicalities, and investigations stretch out for years before an end comes in sight - if at all.
True crime is a messier affair, but in the hands of these writers, the true specter of violence and mayhem, science and psychology is elevated to literary art."
Mr. Barer's genius writing skills is not only evident in Head Shot but his ability to captivate a reader with the truth of crime shocks and leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of criminal nature and the dogma of the crime itself.
As the book is described, Paul St. Pierre was an alcoholic, psychopath, and has an urge to kill. His younger brother, Chris, committed unspeakable acts to "fit in" with the group. This includes the holding of a young girl hostage. Paul's childhood friend, Andrew K. Webb, took drugs, talked to skulls, and yearned to eat human flesh. With a menu of alcohol and Drugs the world of crime cover-ups and friend against friend and brother against brother begins.
Andrew was attacked by a friend of Damon Wells and two men were murdered by the St. Pierre brothers. Andrew K. Webb was the third party involved and was the motive force behind the first of the murders. Victim John Achord, age 22, was killed by the trio and had his head cut-off and placed it in a bucket of cement and placed in the Puyallup River. Chris St. Pierre stated that Paul St. Pierre killed John Achord by shooting him in the head with a .45 automatic. Damon Wells body was stuffed in a mummy-style sleeping bag.
During the trial, Dr. Lacsina found that Achord was stabbed to death. Paul's confinement and isolation in prison is quoted as to have driven Paul mad. Yet, the circumstance of Paul's death in prison is highly questionable. Paul died from supposedly shoving feces filled toilet paper down his own throat while under guard in supervised holding. I found the story very accurate with the courtroom legalistic talk.
It is important for the reader to know that in the courtroom it is not all that exciting and full of drama. It was difficult to completely understand the legal jargon at times for me. However, Burl does a great job explaining several important justice and injustice of the courtroom. Nevertheless, I tend to wonder if this book has any connection to Burl's book Headlock. For example, there is a character named Travis Webb .if I remember correctly. Moreover, as stated before all fiction has a hint of truth in it.
HEAD SHOT is recommended for some if you would like to understand a bit of the justice system in action and true crime with all the gore and ugliness. I do warn the readers that the pictures in the book are very graphic and should not be view by children or adults that may not be able to handle the images. The most frightening aspect to this reader is that Andrew Webb has been paroled since 2007.
Burl Barer says: The connection to HEADLOCK is that Travis Webb appears in both books, although HEADLOCK is a private eye mystery starring ME! I deserve to be the hero at least once. Travis Webb is the nephew of Andrew Webb. Travis is also an brilliant and creative writer, an accomplished journalist, true crime researcher, and famed in the international rave scene. He is the one who told me about the case featured in HEAD SHOT. Travis also appears as commentator in Mom Said Kill and Fatal Beauty.
somewhat related is my article on wwww.cheezymovies.blogspot.com on the revival of "Rocky King Detective" from the DuMont Network. Also Eddie and Debbie shine in "Bundle of Joy" for first time on DVD. Big news!
Posted by: David Zarkin | November 11, 2011 at 12:50 PM
I wonder if mr and mrs king really named their baby boy Rocky...maybe his real name was Richard or Rudolph
Posted by: Burl Barer | November 14, 2011 at 01:35 PM