The Walking Shadow

Detective John Schwartz plans to ease back into his job in the Crimes Against Children unit with the Fargo Police Department. He has taken some time off to deal with the death of his wife and hopes for a smooth transition back to work. His first case back looks simple on the outside, but it is anything but that. The case soon leads him to a discovery that Fargo, North Dakota has never encountered before; one that will enlist the attention of the FBI. John tries to balance his work and raise his two children, but he finds it harder and harder the further he gets involved in the case. As another teenager is taken, the police and FBI are stymied for leads. Knowing that the evil that has come to Fargo will slip away to another location, the men and women of the Fargo Police Department and the FBI must find a way to put in end to the carnage while the opportunity is there.

Tea Party

On what should have been a fun family vacation for the Yearns family turned into a nightmare after an attempted abduction of their older child by a serial killer. It’s every parent’s worst fear, to have a child taken, and Scott Yearns is not about to let it happen without a fight. He saves his daughter but is soon fighting for his life as a result after being shot in the process.In between life and death, Scott finds himself meeting the victims of the man thwarted in the kidnapping of his daughter. The six little girls give him a choice, one that is hard to turn down. The decision Scott makes will create ripples in not only his future but that of another. Scott Yearns thought with his choice that he was doing the right thing and for a good reason, but his good intentions could put the daughter he saved in danger once again.Tea Party delves into what choices a person makes can have ramifications later down the path of life. Everyone one wants to make the right choice, but what one thinks is right can be completely wrong. How can saving a little girl’s life be considered wrong the choice? Saving the life is the obvious choice, especially one of a seven-year-old child. What harm could come from saving a little girl’s life? Scott Yearns will soon find out that every choice comes with their own consequences.

Laughter in the Wind

For Tom Wolfe, a civil suit lawyer who has fallen on hard times, the trial is his last chance. For Corey Hagen, a young man with Down’s syndrome, the trial is a chance for people to understand. For both, it’s the start of a special friendship neither of them had seen coming.When Corey’s Golden Retriever is brutally killed, he seeks justice through a civil suit that no one takes seriously, well not at first. Many people take one look at Corey and dismiss him right away because of his condition. He finds solace at the animal shelter where volunteers, but that too is in trouble as its proprietor Chelsey Trainer is struggling with the surmounting financial troubles.Tom has been harboring an emotional pain since he was 12. He blames himself for something he had no control over at all; a death of a loved one. It has haunted him all his life, and even though he had tried to keep the pain drowned with alcohol, it keeps resurfacing. Tom is assigned the Corey’s case and knows he cannot mess this one up. Soon he learns that the case is not like any other he had before, nor is Corey what he expected either.Laughter in the Wind is a novel about dealing with the loss of a loved one and how people deal with it. Tom Wolfe just wants to forget his, while Corey wants people to understand his. The two of them will go through great lengths to achieve their goals, only to have one of them actually get what he wants.

Timely Vengeance

Accidents happen. Some you are able to walk away and move on with your life, and then there are the ones that can haunt you for the rest of your life. Conner Feist’s alcohol fueled life changed the day of the blizzard. Joel Kostos’ family life as he knew it changed that day as well. Both men will have to deal with the ramifications of what occurred. Both will deal with what happened differently, but both will find it impossible to move on from it. One will seek forgiveness, understanding, and a way to move past what he had done. The other will seek something else and will stop at nothing until it is achieved. Timely Vengeance will take you on a roller coaster of emotions and have you questioning which character deserves what he seeks the most and which one doesn’t.

A Mourning of Remembrance

Seventeen year-old Gavin Pierce wants to keep the promise he made to his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s. Gavin’s grandfather Bernie wants to see the place where he spent his honeymoon to see if he can retrieve some precious memories. The problem for Gavin is that he is mildly autistic and doesn’t drive. Gavin will enlist his high school-dropout friend Roadkill to help. Roadkill has a van and a license but views the world differently than his friend. Time is not the only thing against Gavin, as he starts the journey from St. Clair Lakes to Colorado, for he has started this adventure without his father’s knowledge. Can he fulfill his promise, or will his father finally catch on and catch up? Gavin’s journey will not only take him to places where his social awkwardness will be tested but where he will question if he should have made the promise in the first place. A Mourning of Remembrance is a story about a grandson’s willingness to break from his safe routine and make sacrifices for the sake of his grandfather. Whatever end Gavin’s journey reaches, he will never be the same.

Judge’s Commentary:

A Mourning of Remembrance
Stephen Tiedman
A Mourning of Remembrance by Stephen Tiedman should be required reading for high school students, teachers, parents and anyone who knows them. It is a worthy picture painted with quality brushstrokes that deserves sweet and careful consideration. Gavin, Tiedman’s protagonist, is a seventeen year old student who happens to be mildly autistic. Despite Gavin’s grandfather suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, the two have a very special relationship.
Gavin recognizes his grandfather’s dream to go back in time and place to reclaim a special memory. Before it is too late, Gavin sets out to make that happen in the face of challenges and obstacles. Along the way, the reader sees Gavin mature. The tale is touching, sometimes sad, often amusing, occasionally laugh out loud funny, a tad sexy, every now and then perplexing. The fairytale ending is perfect and not a stretch for this story.
The book is written in two voices—Gavin’s voice through pages of his journal and the narrator’s voice—which give the reader great insight into the working of Gavin’s mind in this coming of age novel. Gavin will travel with me as an unforgettable character. The story is one of inter-generational relationships which offers a shining example of goodness. The book encourages positive values of family loyalty, goal setting, honesty, determination, and so much more. To repeat, A Mourning of Remembrance should be required reading.