The Redemption of Charlie Devlin

Readers ranging from twenty somethings to octogenarians have raved about Gerald Hickey´s The Redemption of Charlie Devlin. --Bill Connolly of Ocala, Florida, said that he had a difficult time putting the novel down. --Reader Gloria Naas of Kingston, Ohio, commented, "It left an impact on me like no other book I´ve read. It´s the only book I have ever read twice." --Julie McGuire of Colorado Springs, Colorado, called the novel "a great read." Here is a synopsis of the book, also acclaimed as well written and insightful: Recently divorced by his attractive wife, Sheila, and removed from the crime beat at The Phoenix Post, Charlie Devlin feels adrift in a murky sea of uncertainty. He plies himself with alcohol as he gropes for an anchor.

Traumatized by his divorce, he has lost his touch as a crime reporter. His city editor has placed him on probation and assigned him to the education beat. Charlie has fought boredom on his new job for several weeks, when someone murders Leslie Cashman, a dedicated young high school teacher.

As a crime reporter, he became inured to homicides, but the brutal murder of Leslie gnaws at him. The turbulent eighties are winding down when the teacher is slain in Verde Hills, a Phoenix suburb.

Although Charlie pines for Sheila, he was beginning to have tender feelings for Leslie, whom he met when he interviewed her for a story. Her death changes the lives of several people, in addition to 33-year-old Charlie. He decides to try to help police solve the murder case.

...He saw a fresh vision of the fair sex in Leslie´s caring, hopeful spirit. She might have restored his faith in women. The world needed more, not fewer, people like Leslie....

The epitome of a rootless urbanite in the new Southwest, Charlie is a flesh-and-blood character with recognizable faults and frustrations, not a larger-than-life hero with nerves of steel. He typifies legions of thirty-somethings who have fallen short of their own or others´ expectations.

As he tries to atone for his failings by helping solve Leslie´s murder, he finds evil in unexpected places. He stumbles on an unrelated homicide and becomes involved in the case, before he can find the key to Leslie´s death.