Reviewed By: Ruth Jordan - RAM
Scratch the S
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Benjamin M. Leroy
Class/Genre: Fiction
2001, Diversity, Inc., 160 PAGES/$13.00
SCRATCH THE S is a find. Put out by a small Midwestern Publisher, I came across it at an Independent Bookstore and always on the lookout for new names bought it as a “read for me” indulgence. And now I want to share it with the people who graciously plow through my reviews.
In an one hundred and sixty page trade paperback Mr. Leroy takes his reader on an incredible story that is at once; an affirmation of life, a commentary on the death penalty, a love story, and a review of a horrific crime.
A series of letters is at the core of this tale. Written by an inmate on death row and a young, unmarried mother stuck in an all too familiar life style the letters are crafted with a honesty that is amazing.
Through the simplicity of Leroy’s vicarious prose you cannot help but become involved in the evolution of the relationship between the two pen-pals. This would and should be enough for any reader but Mr. Leroy strips his story of any overt romanticism by the structure of his novel. Peppered in between the letters of our two protagonists is the starkly told third person narrative of the crime that lands our prisoner on death row. It is very well done. Even as your respect for the humanity and futility of a life that could have been grows, your horror for what did happen becomes more real with each passing chapter. At the end of the book the reader is emotionally spent and you realize you’ve read a book that is indeed special and should be shared with fellow readers. I recommend this book to any reader looking for a new voice in the field of crime fiction.
Ruth Jordan - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Ruth Jordan - RAM
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