I’d deem my novel a psychological thriller told, for the most part, through a series of flashbacks that occur when our heroine meets with her court appointed psychiatrist.
I feel that the only way to convey the intensity and uniqueness of the novel is to give much, but not all, of it away to the generous donors. Which brings us to:
Meet Cass: full name Cassandra Jane Estes. When the story opens, Cass is sitting in a law office speaking with Zander Hawkins, a defense attorney. He’s trying desperately to explain to Cass that the list of charges against her does not include murder, but his client is impertinent, fixated on the missing charge. Cass repeatedly explains that the public endangerment, damage to public property, and vandalism were all a necessary means to an end. She believes there was no other choice and doesn’t regret her delinquent actions. She had to kill Jolene.
There was no body. No blood. The video footage taken in the library shows no person fitting the description Cass gives of her supposed nemesis. In fact, no one connected to Cass can recall this Jolene Dubois ever being a part of Cass’ life, for better or worse. The footage only shows our heroine running in with a gun, standing about ten feet from one of the large windows and between Dewey Decimal shelving 305.4 and 317.2. For a moment, it’s as if the footage were frozen. Seconds pass as Cass directs the gun at the window, completely alone. Library patrons were unaware of an impending shot. People don’t spend much time in the low 300’s.
Bang. Although "bang" doesn’t really encompass the sound of a gunshot, does it? The glass of the second floor window shatters instantly. Cass falls to her knees and remains there, sobbing until authorities apprehend her. The media is all abuzz about a female shooter. A lady. A girl. A woman. They aren’t shooters. The ones you read about are always boys or men, not of the fairer sex.
She maintains that the footage must have been altered. Cass’ testimony is startling and gruesome, describing in detail the bits of Jolene’s pretty face that’d been strewn about. The insanity defense was a sure bet and Hawkins was applauded for taking the steps required to commit Cass to one of the most prestigious mental health facilities in the country.
There, she begins to reveal the series of events that led to the shooting. The lead psychiatrist, Carl Campbell, now faces a challenge to his profession and integrity. Soon, it seems that his patient’s claims aren’t as far fetched and clinically insane as the rest of the country believes when observed with an eye for intuition, metaphor, and psychoanalysis. Her delusions may have had a violent end, but the road taken was one of spirit, trial, and genuine investigation into societal norms and customs. Still, her course had been set. Medication and therapy and then...
In a bold move, Campbell chooses to dismiss tradition and team up with Cass in developing a new treatment system based on her beautiful and ingenious fantasies of healing and change.
And so, their journey begins.