The Price of Guilt

Revenge is one of the most popular themes in the history of literature --- dating back to pre-biblical times. Readers are consistently drawn to a good revenge story because, if done well, they can identify with the protagonist/antagonist seeking the revenge and vicariously enjoy when they are successful in this endeavor.

Often times, stories of revenge are predictable and trite, and readers may give up caring about the outcome long before the final page is turned. The latest novel by author/Professor Patrick M. Garry, "The Price of Guilt," falls somewhere between these two extremes.

Attorney Thomas Walsh attends his high-school reunion with great reluctance. The reluctance is not over any embarrassment he has about his life or fear of mingling with colleagues who have become unrecognizable since he last saw them. Walsh’s trepidation lies in the fact that he does not wish to relive a tragic event that he and some classmates were involved in back when they were thirteen. This accident that Walsh still feels heavy guilt for resulted in the permanent blinding of schoolmate, Donavon Killerman. Donavon was successively orphaned and Walsh and his reunited school-mates had not seen him since that fateful event.

Walsh is at a crossroads in his life. His marriage to wife, Sarah, has been on the down-turn for a long while and his legal career has recently taken a hit when a client of his became involved in a political scandal that threatened to ruin his career. Walsh could certainly use some good karma --- so he decides to look up Donavon Killerman after nearly thirty years. Donavon runs a dilapidated fishing resort that has seen better days. Arriving there with Sarah, and signing in under her name so as to not rouse suspicion, Walsh decides to spend a mini-vacation at Donavon’s resort and get to know him in the progress.

Walsh’s guilty feelings instantly get the best of him as he finds the blind Donavon struggling to keep the resort running (Walsh is his only customer) and entangled in various legal problems. Walsh figures this is the perfect opportunity to make amends while never revealing his true identity or actual purpose in being at Donavon’s resort. I only it were that easy. Walsh quickly finds himself mixed up in drug deals, an extra-marital affair and the target of an eager private investigator. Things start to spiral out of control as Walsh’s life and marriage begin to crumble around him --- with no sign of light.

"The Price of Guilt" begins with a decent enough premise and Garry clearly has a command of the written word. However, the novel begins to lose steam about half-way through and the inevitable ending will not come as a surprise to any shrewd mystery/thriller fan. The continuous jumping back in forth in time throughout the narrative, from Walsh’s present position as an inmate in Orono Prison to the events that led him there, becomes a distraction and I found much of the information unnecessary. A decent and quick read but not a memorable tale of guilt and revenge.


The Price of Guilt
Patrick M. Garry
Kenric Books (2011)
ISBN 9780983370307
Reviewed by Ray Palen for RebeccasReads (12/11)