The Almost Crime

Near-fatal auto accidents, a murder, a scam, armed robberies – this is a tale of seemingly pointless and random actions, eluding simple connection. Along the way, the events pose a basic question: Was there really a crime? And, if so, who is the victim? Police detective McDonnell tries to connect the dots, using his solid training and instinct. But McDonnell’s experience is too narrow to solve a mystery of such perverse logic, especially when distracted by Martha, his partner’s widow. Martha’s strange vision could crack the case, if only she can block out her own distracting and complicated ambitions and emotions. In a tale of altruistic intent twisted by self-preserving morality, Christopher Beyers’ first murder mystery explores the frailty of human judgment. The ending leaves the reader with a new question: if law is a natural extension of human rationality, whose logic matters?