Twisted Allies

 OK here on this blog I can admit out loud that I am jealous of my friend Ben Garber.  I have known him for 30 years and over that time we have talked of wanting to write a book.  It has always been a thought in the back of my mind that it would be fun to leave the legacy behind with a published book on the shelves of book stores. 

Well, Ben took the bull by the horns and has reached his goal first with this twisty, tangled novel.  If you are into gaming it will be even more entertaining, but without the knowledge of the world of gaming, this was an intriguing and compelling mystery to follow.

Twisted Allies is a novel about family dynamics, divorce and parent /child relationships. A mother found dead, a son found later in a neighbor’s garage with bloodied clothes.  The press is calling him the “Mommy Murderer” and his father, a psychologist, claims the mother was abusive and the son is now suffering from traumatic shock.  True crime writer Ted Bennett involves himself, when he requests to write a book about the case.  Hoping to expose the true story he becomes embroiled in the complicated, digital world of gaming. 

As the plot thickens we learn about Ted Bennet’s relationship with a divorcee with a young daughter.   As Bennett is interviewing Samuel Abrams about his marriage to Suki Kohler and how he thinks it all affected their son and led to murder, we watch Bennett negotiate his own relationship.  The two stories converge as the reader watches Bennett's relationship become similar to Abrams' spiraling, crazy relationships. 

All this makes for a fast moving, disturbing, always twisting look at how far a parent will go to protect what they decide is the best interest of their child. 

This book has many layers and will be a great book discussion read.  So many topics to discuss embedded in this fun mystery, who do you believe, are they telling you the truth or leading you down the garden path???