In the tight-knit Chesapeake Bay community of Mystic Beach, social worker Dr. Clara Starr appears to have conquered her troubled past. But when the body of local waterman Bobby Ward washes ashore, Clara’s darkest secret plunges her into the heart of a chilling mystery. As her clients become the prime suspects in Bobby’s murder, Clara must reveal the true identity of the killer before someone is falsely arrested.
Aided by Clara’s deaf mother, Vallurea Starr uses her skills in tarot reading passed down from a long line of deaf women to help guide her daughter in the direction of truth. Along with Clara’s trusted assistant, Addie, they grapple with long-held secrets and the deadly consequences of past mistakes. Clara must unravel a web of deceit and betrayal.
When the shocking cause of Bobby’s death is revealed, Clara finds herself on the precipice of losing everything. She must decide whether to keep her secret hidden and risk arrest or expose her past and face a devastating truth.
Death Space: The True Story of a Deaf Serial Killer at Gallaudet University
Four weeks into Gallaudet University’s fall semester of 2000, a freshman smelled something funny coming from his friend’s dorm room across the hall. Eric Plunkett’s bloodied and battered body lay in the middle of the floor. Fear seized the close-knit, insulated world of Gallaudet’s deaf community. The language barrier created chaos between police, media, and Gallaudet residents and hampered the investigation.
By the end of the semester, the investigation continued with no arrest. When students returned to campus in January 2001, they brought a premature sense of renewal and hope. One morning early in the semester, someone pulled a fire alarm in the Cogswell Hall dormitory. Bright, powerful lights strobed through the rooms and halls, designed to wake the sleeping deaf students. A resident adviser found the mutilated body of freshman Ben Varner. The Washington, D.C. chief of police brought his top homicide investigators into the case, determined to stop the serial killer no matter what it took.
Death Space is the true story of the murders of two deaf first-year college students at Gallaudet University and its effects on the deaf population worldwide. The book chronicles the discovery of the bodies, the victim’s friends’ reactions, the police investigations, court convictions, and the present-day life of the murderer in prison from an interview with one of Gallaudet University’s staff members.
Pants on Fire: Liars, Psychopaths, and Serial Killers
There is a fine line between a liar, psychopath, and serial killer. One could argue it’s a matter of degree. A liar intentionally betrays our trust and uses misdirection to make us focus on anything other than the truth. Most everyone has told a life at some point. After all, children learn to spin yarns at an early age. For some, lying becomes habitual and pathological, even murderous. There is a continuum that can range from simple “white” lies in order to prevent hurting someone’s feelings. There are lies that are used for manipulation and exploitation, like scammers who call you warning of expired warranties. There are lies for extorting money, gaining power, and exacting influence. The mother-of-all-lies, though, is the lie used to lure victims to their deaths. However, we need not all be victims. There are strategies we can use to help keep us safe. Pants on Fire: Liars, Psychopaths, and Serial Killers is a brief exploration into the distinctions between the people who tell low-impact lies, malicious lies, and bloodthirsty lies, and considerations for how to avoid all types of liars.
The Last Class: The Killing of College Students by Murderers, Hearing and Deaf
The United States has a long history of murders at schools and college campuses, some as far back as the mid-1800s. There is all manner of homicides: students killing students, students killing faculty, and killers targeting students. The Jeanne Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose information about crime near or on campuses. In rare cases, serial killers with a preference for young women found that colleges made the supply of victims a natural choice. Even small, close-knit communities like the Deaf community are not immune to crime, homicide, and serial murder. There are a number of issues that influence whether angst and frustration escalate into murder. Serial murderers have a unique constellation of factors that make them especially deadly. However, we need not all be victims. There are strategies college students can use to help keep them safe. The Last Class: The Killing of College Students by Murderers, Hearing and Deaf is a brief exploration of murder on college campuses and considerations for keeping safe.
Taboo Deaths: The Murder of Family and Friends by Family and Friends
The term familicide refers to when one family member kills another family member and sometimes all. Killing one’s family is considered taboo in society because of the social values we place on the family unit. There are underlying motivations that often cause a family member to kill one’s relatives. Sometimes the motivation is jealousy, revenge, financial gain, control, conflict, or to “save” a family member from suffering. Often in cases of familicide, the homicide is a result of domestic violence. Like family bonds, friendship is also valued by society. In both family and friend relationships, the common thread is support, companionship, belonging, and care. Thus, killing a friend is also considered taboo. There are many ideas about why people kill those to whom they feel closest. Aggression and violence are complex processes that are influenced by social factors, such as dysfunctional or abusive family histories. Mental illness can be at the root of murder, but usually, these cases are exceedingly rare. However, there are considerations that can help us from being harmed by a family member or friend. Taboo Deaths: The Murder of Family and Friends by Family and Friends is a brief exploration into the underlying reasons some murders are considered taboo and what we can do to help keep us safe.
Making Lemonade: Surviving the Tragedy of a Murdered Adult Child
Some families experience the unimaginable: the murder of their child. Death Space, Pants on Fire, The Last Class, and Taboo Deaths explored different aspects of homicide, from lying as its foundation to college campus murders to murders of family and friends. This is not where the stories end. Though the physical lives of homicide victims are cut short, the lives of family members and friends continue. How does one navigate this difficult and heart-breaking time? Making Lemonade: Surviving the Tragedy of a Murdered Adult Child introduces you to three parents whose adult children were murdered. Coupled with the parents’ stories and strategies for surviving the horrific experience, there are professional recommendations for how to journey through grief and reconstruct a new but different kind of life. We see how different families have made lemonade when they’ve been handed lemons and learn that survival and reconstruction are possible.
Teresa Crowe Books 