Raskolnikov's Disorder: a Eutopian Murder Mystery

June 22, 2003—that was the day Elayne County, Oregon woke up to the Ice Cream Man. He was there when citizens opened their morning papers—a giant ice cube mounted by grinning firemen; and for months to come, coffee shops rustled with his bizarre tale. The most intriguing of those articles were written by China Red whose serendipitous arrival via hot air balloon in the opening moments launched her into journalism. Now, five years after her mysterious disappearance, she brings us Raskolnikov's Disorder, an intimate ride-along that goes well beyond the borders of newsprint. From the safety of our armchairs, we can feel Middle Sister's icy breath at our backs and the warmth of the sheriff's smile on our faces. Raskolnikov's Disorder unfolds on the flanks of a glaciated volcano where the lives of three people become entangled. One of them is China Red; one of them is Sheriff Ben Lawers; and the third is a corpse laid out in Victorian finery and accompanied by a journal. Trekking through those antique pages, Sheriff Ben joins the artist Cochereau on a mental health voyage to the New World, but initial optimism evaporates when the artist encounters boyhood nightmares in the shape of two young sisters with a taste for torture. Parallels between Ben's 21st century reality and the journal abound as he juggles murder suspects whose motivations are tainted by Raskolnikov's disorder. While Cochereau's attempts to hide in an alternate reality bring him closer to the brink of madness, Ben becomes ever more a stranger to his friends, sinking into a trap from which he may never want to escape. Meanwhile, piggy-backing on the lives of others, China Red also falls under the spell forgetting the basics of survival and waking up one day to a foreboding pounding at her door. No one can dodge the effects of Raskolnikov's disorder in this mad, murder mystery!