Summer of Fear by T. Jefferson Parker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"And her face! Amber's lovely, ageless, beguiling face - somehow lifted back now, flaplike, hinged on only one side, turned almost down, as if contemplating her own hair afloat in that pond of blood."

Summer of Fear (1993) is the eleventh novel by T. Jefferson Parker that I am reviewing here on Goodreads and the first one that I am unable to recommend. The overly complex setup gradually turns into a mess of an implausible plot.

The narrator, Russ Monroe, an ex-cop, is a moderately successful true-crime writer. He is telling the story of the Summer of Fear, in which he himself plays a major part. Amber, his ex-lover and the mother of his daughter, is killed; Russ finds her body. The words "SO JAH SEH," "AWAKEN OR DIE IN IGNORACE," and "MIDNIGHT EYE IS RETURN" are spray-painted on the walls at the scene of the crime. Moreover, Russ sees a friend of his, Marty, the Captain of Detectives of the Orange County Sheriff's Homicide Division, leaving the scene. Marty also happens to be the victim's ex-husband. Russ faces another drama: his wife is dying of brain tumor. Russ' and Amber's grown-up daughter is visiting after a long absence in his life

All this is just a part of the setup. We also have a suspected serial murderer, who calls himself Midnight Eye, on the loose in Orange County. Two couples have been murdered in a similar way, and Russ soon will be at the scene of yet multiple murder (apparently he has access to crime scenes because of his police connections):

"The smell was strong. Both bodies - smallish dark-skinned bodies - were opened and emptied like drawers. Their contents were everywhere [...]"

To me, the entire setup is so contrived that it has the feel of a cheap TV series. What's worse though, is that this setup devolves into a preposterous plot, with ridiculous plot twists, which I am reluctant to even allude to. This pains me because I love Mr. Parker's writing. I have very highly rated several of his novels. For instance, I have found his California Girl, winner of the 2005 Edgar Award, not that far from a masterpiece of the genre. Summer of Fear, on the other hand, in places reads almost as a parody of an actual crime novel, despite the accomplished prose, notable especially in the earlier parts of the story.

I have discovered from the author's website that he wrote the book as a "howl of protest" about his wife's struggle with cancer and death from brain tumor, a pained cry against the randomness of illness and crime. It is hard to imagine the degree of tragedy and horror that Mr. Parker had to endure. He has my wholehearted sympathy, but I have to be truthful in the review: I am unable to recommend the novel.

Two stars.


View all my reviews