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A Cultural Trip Down Memory Lane
The Seasonal Killer follows five misfit friends who suspect they’ve witnessed a serial killer disposing of a body, but when adults dismiss their claims, the friends launch their own dangerous investigation before the murderer strikes again. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The Seasonal Killer began as a celebration of a time in my life and the friends I had then. Having the protagonists face off against a potentially prolific serial killer was a way to demonstrate, in an extreme way, the insoluble bonds between the characters. Further, I liked the idea of pitting the alleged killer, a man with the veneer of normalcy and conformity, against a group of young outcasts.
How did you develop the five members of the Subpar Squad and their individual personalities, and what role do music, arcade games, comic books, and other cultural details play in establishing the boys’ personalities and friendships?
Developing the characters was the easy part. At that age, these were my best friends. A couple of the main characters were composites of people I grew up with. But the real Subpar Squad knows which characters were modeled after them.
Their shared interests and other cultural details are critically important. Having common interests solidifies their bonds, but the choice of interests is also important. They weren’t athletes or scholars. They didn’t have a support network of parents or teachers. Their interests were escapes. No matter what was happening at school or home, they found an escape in a song or a comic book or game of Dungeons and Dragons. In those worlds, they could be whoever they wanted to be—the only limit was their imagination.
How did you approach building suspense while keeping the boys’ reactions believable for their age and experience?
Keeping it believable based on their age and experience while handling grown-up situations was a challenge, but it was also the most rewarding part. Though my friends and I never investigated a possible serial murderer living next door, there were plenty of adventures and intense experiences from that time to draw from, extrapolating what might have occurred given the personalities involved.
What do you hope younger readers discover about growing up during that period, and what might older readers recognize from their own childhoods?
Certainly, a lot of older readers will recognize, and hopefully enjoy, the cultural trip down memory lane, reliving the sense of freedom and power of imaginative play. For the younger readers, it may be informative about their parents’ childhood, but also, I think the story transcends the period backdrop. After my son read my book, he found the debate about rock guitarists particularly entertaining. He didn’t know the musicians and wasn’t a fan of the style of music, but he could relate it to the spirit of the conversation. He recalled similar lively discussions among his friends about basketball players and teams.
Also, I think most will relate to the friendship bonds at that age. Those bonds allowed you the comfort to passionately speak your opinion while vehemently disagreeing with your friends’ views, occasionally throwing in a brutal insult, still knowing that you were in a safe place. Regardless of what was said, when it mattered, they’d still have your back. It was a golden but transient time, timelessly bittersweet.
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In the dead of night, five friends believe they’ve witnessed a man disposing of a body. With a history of mischief, no one takes the middle schoolers seriously. Left with no other options, they set out on a daring mission to uncover the truth, which could bring them face to face with a prolific serial killer.
The Seasonal Killer
The Seasonal Killer combines a coming-of-age adventure with a crime thriller, following five friends whose summer freedom draws them into an unsettling investigation. Set in New Valley, a wooded suburban town north of New York City, the story looks back on the summer of 1981 through Brett Dubois’s recollections. Brett and his friends, the self-named Subpar Squad, spend their days dodging bullies, arguing about music, and devising questionable entertainment. When an evening excursion raises suspicions about a local resident, their familiar games acquire serious consequences. Author Bernard Doucette gives the premise its appeal through the boys’ shared history, their resourcefulness, and their uneven understanding of danger.
The book’s most persuasive passages establish the texture of that summer: newspaper routes, arcade games, record shopping, backyard pools, and long evenings spent beyond parental supervision. These details make the boys’ independence tangible and explain why their friendships matter so much. Brett describes their gathering place plainly: “The fort was our haven, far from the prying eyes and ears of adults”. That refuge gives the group room to develop its own rules, loyalties, and rituals. Their conversations are profane, competitive, and frequently funny, especially when a debate about guitarists or comic-book heroes becomes an occasion for elaborate insults. Jason’s quick tongue and seemingly endless appetite provide a recognizable comic rhythm. Some explanations of games and popular culture slow the narrative, but the accumulated detail gives the setting a strong identity.
Jake supplies the group’s clearest sense of responsibility. Sensitive, inventive, and repeatedly underestimated, he gives the investigation a purpose that reaches beyond curiosity. His question, “If we don’t do anything, and it happens again, then isn’t it kind of our fault?”, expresses the pressure driving the boys’ choices. Doucette is attentive to the tension between wanting an enjoyable vacation and feeling accountable for someone else’s safety. The Squad’s reputation for poor grades and misbehavior also raises a useful question about how adults assess children’s credibility and potential. Parents, teachers, and police officers often appear through broad, hostile characterizations, which can make their responses feel predictable. The more reflective passages, including Brett’s recognition that cruelty can grow from private unhappiness, give the social conflicts greater depth.
Doucette builds suspense through the boys’ heightened awareness of ordinary surroundings. Summer heat, scraping branches, dark windows, and unfamiliar sounds turn familiar spaces into sources of apprehension. Brett’s conversational narration keeps that fear close to the reader while preserving the humor and self-consciousness of adolescence. The pacing sometimes becomes repetitive as the friends revisit their doubts and Brett explains feelings already evident in the action. Greater restraint in those passages would sharpen the tension. Even so, the combination of rough humor, physical adventure, and moral uncertainty gives The Seasonal Killer a distinctive character. It’s especially appealing for readers who enjoy stories about adolescent friendship under pressure. The novel’s lasting interest lies in how these boys understand one another, and in the effort required to act responsibly when confidence, good judgment, and adult support are all in short supply.
Pages: 210 | ASIN : B0F74PDWJN
SEVEN BLACKBIRDS
Seven Blackbirds tells the story of Kim, a woman trapped in an abusive marriage, struggling to protect herself and her infant son while trying to reconcile her past hopes with the starkness of her reality. The book moves through moments of violence, fear, and shame, but also into fragile glimpses of self-discovery and resilience. It shifts between memory and present action, weaving together family histories, friendships, and the slow, painful recognition of what love is not. At its heart, it is a book about survival and the small but vital sparks of strength that carry someone through darkness.
The writing is plainspoken, and that’s what makes it sting. There are no flourishes to soften the blows. The scenes of abuse hit hard because they’re described without sensationalism, just matter-of-fact, as if the narrator is bracing herself in silence. At times, I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. I found myself angry, then sad, then oddly relieved when Kim found small moments of clarity. What struck me most was how the book captured the inner confusion, the push and pull of wanting to believe things will get better, even when the evidence piles up that they won’t. It’s uncomfortable, but it feels real.
Sometimes the pacing slowed in places. I’d get pulled deep into a scene, then taken through passages that felt more like personal notes. But life under control and abuse isn’t tidy. It’s messy, repetitive, and often without resolution. What I admired most was how the book carried its emotional weight without preaching. It didn’t tell me how to feel; it just put me in the room and let me sit there until I had to come up with my own reaction.
By the time I finished, I felt both heavy and grateful. This isn’t an easy book, but it’s an important one. I’d recommend it to readers who want a story that isn’t afraid of discomfort, people who are drawn to voices that speak plainly about pain yet carry a thread of stubborn hope. It would resonate with those interested in women’s stories, in survival, and in the quiet bravery of telling the truth when silence might feel safer.
Pages: 268 | ASIN : B0037UY4U2
