Backstory

Mysterious Book Report No. 496

by John Dwaine McKenna

Backstory, (Oceanview Publishing, $27.95, 336 pages, ISBN 978-1-60809-490-5), by William L. Meyers, is a tale of psychological terror that begins when a man is attacked in an alley, where his head is repeatedly slammed face first into a brick wall, leaving him bloody, disoriented and without memory of who he is . . . or where.  When he comes to, he stumbles into the bar he’s behind, and learns he’s a regular there, he’s called Bob—a name he doesn’t recognize—and that the town they’re in is called Kournfield, somewhere in Kansas.

For some reason, Bob thinks something, or someone, is telling him to leave, to run away, and get out of there.  And for some other, unknown reason, it’s important for him to conceal his amnesia . . . but he gradually learns that his beloved wife Helen, has recently committed suicide with an overdose of pills.  He fakes his way back to his job as a supervisor at the local Goodyear Tire plant and tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered existence.  But it’s just not working.  As his memory comes back in fits and starts, his paranoia grows by leaps and bounds.  He believes someone is chasing him and that that someone murdered his wife and broke into his apartment.  Flashes of memory come back, like lightning in far away storm clouds, and he realizes that his search must take him to Philadelphia, where hints of dirty cops, stolen bribe money, and criminals itching for revenge haunt his mind.  As the suspense builds, his delusions begin to lessen and the picture of who—and what—he really is becomes slightly clearer as he learns more about his secret, and dirty past.  Is he a good guy?  Or a bad guy and a bully with a badge?  You can only find the answer by reading this eerie and suspenseful, well-plotted yarn to it’s stunning conclusion.  It will not only keep you on the edge of your seat . . . you’ll never guess the ending!!

 

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