Marja's Mystery Blog: Patricia Gligor, Guest Author

Monday, October 29, 2018

Patricia Gligor, Guest Author

This week my guest is Patricia Gligor, my friend and author of the Malone Mysteries, a series I really enjoy. Have you ever thought about walking in someone else's shoes? This post will let you do that. Welcome, Pat!

Imagine This

One of my favorite movies is the 1996 “A Time to Kill,” starring Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock.

In the movie, Jake Brigance, a young white lawyer, defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who brutally sexually assaulted his ten year old daughter. During the trial, it isn’t a question of whether or not Hailey committed the crime; several people saw him do it. What Jake hopes to do is to convince the jury that the case never would’ve made it to trial – if Hailey was white. A daunting task in the racist culture in Canton, Mississippi at that time.

As the trial progresses, Jake tries everything he can think of to convince the jury to find Hailey not guilty but it isn’t looking like that will happen. Until the summation when Jake prevails upon the jurors to close their eyes and “Imagine this.”

Obviously, I can’t ask you to close your eyes so I’ll simply ask you to “Imagine this.”

You’re a thirty-two year old stay-at-home mom. You live on a quiet, tree-lined street on the first floor of a beautiful, old Victorian in a peaceful, family-oriented neighborhood with your husband and two adorable young children – a boy and a girl. You love the house and, most of all, you love your family. You’re living an idyllic life, right?

Wrong!

Your husband, an alcoholic, is drinking heavily and his behavior toward you is erratic. One minute, he’s the kind, loving man you married and, the next minute, he’s cold and cruel to you. You want to “fix” your relationship but you don’t know how. Your little boy is diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) but your husband refuses to believe it, which causes even more arguments in an already tense household. Your mother-in-law constantly pokes her nose in your business, always siding with her son, blaming you for everything and bringing more discord into your marriage.

To top it off, it’s the week of Halloween and there’s a serial killer murdering women in their homes in your neighborhood. Some of your neighbors have decorated their yards for the holiday but you hardly notice as you find yourself looking over your shoulder wherever you go. You’re nervous going out in broad daylight. But how do you feel about going out at night? Do you double and triple check the locks on your windows and doors before going to bed? Does every little noise startle you?

What you just imagined is a brief glimpse into Ann Malone Kern’s life. If you’d like to read more, you can order “Mixed Messages,” the first book in my holiday-themed Malone mystery series, in eBook format at http://tinyurl.com/8sd2cz4.