Islands Broekhuizen, Marius

To New York Governor T. Mitchell Keynor, the solution to ever-increasing violent crime in America seems simple: Rather than continue paying the staggering bill for housing innumerable criminals, stop them before they turn bad. However, in a fear-ridden America looking for revenge, the idea meets with great opposition, including that of his own majority-held senate, which stonewalls his funding requests. The media goad him for the state’s plight; various citizens’ groups taunt him publicly; police, judges, and lawyers voice doubts about his ability. Meantime, a crazed serial killer haunts New York City, his twisted mind nursing a motive for striking Keynor’s family.

Keynor’s solution soon mushrooms out of control and, because secrecy is part of its design, no one knows of the horrific life it produces—far worse than capital punishment or life imprisonment. Keynor is forced to repudiate his own proposal and to fight the vigilante frenzy in America.

Marius Broekhuizen was born of Dutch immigrant parents in Hoboken, NJ, and raised in a small (pop. 2,500), predominantly Dutch village in the northern suburbs. As a boy he wrote poetry and music.

He attended religious schools there and a Dutch-church-oriented college, Calvin College and Seminary, in Grand Rapids, MI, where his A.B. included majors in both English and music. His musical study took him to Indiana University School of Music, from which he earned a Master of Music degree while studying composition under American composer Roy Harris.

Broekhuizen continued writing poetry and short stories during 15 years of teaching English in the Midwest and on both coasts. Then he left teaching, traveled extensively, moved often, and lived in various parts of the United States, observing, researching, and tabulating human behavior.

Currently, he lives and writes in New Hampshire. Islands, Broekhuizen’s third novel, is his first major publishing venture. He is halfway through a new novel, Promise, based on an altogether different topic. His plans include at least another dozen novels, all centered on diverse facets of human relationships.