Reviewed By: Jeff Kreider - RAM
The Right Hand of Evil
Amazon US PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada PB
John Saul
Class/Genre: Fiction Horror
John Saul's The Right Hand of Evil is a suspense, horror story with supernatural trappings. Ted and Janet Conway, on the verge of splitting up their marriage due to Ted's drinking, get a new lease on life. Ted's estranged Aunt dies and leaves them a house that has been vacant for 40 years. The small pious town of St. Albans on the outskirts of Shreveport, is less than thrilled with the prospect of the Conway's coming back. Ted is still fighting his drinking and shortly after their arrival in town, during a drunken stupor, he seems to see the light and asks for help, but now his son seems to have gone by the way side.
This is a fictionalized account of the investigation into Warren Commission's report by the Senate Select Committee in 1976. Butch Karp is asked to head up the investigation team, but soon finds that politics and personal agenda's are in the way, still. Yet, Karp does manage to get an answer. Tanenbaum, himself, was an investigator for the Select Committee working on the JFK Assassination, though was not in charge of it. He warns in his introduction to this book that though there are similarities between him and Butch Karp, that this work "...like the Warren Report, is a work of fiction..." When I saw Tanenbaum at the signing for his most recent book, Enemy Within I had just read the introduction and said, "I guess you don't have much use for the Warren Committee's investigation" and he said, "What investigation? They didn't do one!"
His account is interesting and the solution, overall, has a nice packaging, but it doesn't really tie everything up. I'm not sure how well received this book might be in general. If you're a Karp fan, it's as good as any. If you interested in the assassination, there is some good, factual, eye-brow raising information about the assassination that might not be common knowledge. If you are extremely familiar with the various conspiracy theories, the fictional elements may stand out and become very obvious. If, like me, you are somewhere in the middle, being somewhat familiar with some of the theories, the fictional elements will blur in with the facts. If you are in the first category, you may be a bit confused wondering if the eye-brow raising events depicted are true or just part of the fiction incorporated into the story. If you are in the later category, you might be a bit disappointed that all the aspects of the event were not tied up. Most of the assassination theories ignore some aspects or entire paths of the historical record, you might expect that someone making this stuff up could tie a better bow around it. For those in the middle, it might be more enjoyable. Having the line between the "historical record" and "this fiction" being blurred, helped with the flow of the story and the suspense. But being in this category myself, I found that though it was a nice ride through the story, I was disappointed in the loose solution.
Jeff Kreider - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jeff Kreider - RAM
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