Review: Marching Backwards in Time to Understand A Killer
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 2, 2012
G.T. Rigdon is a clean writer. His style of writing is very clear, well focused so that every page is complete in preparing the reader for what comes next. That is not to say that he gives his plot line away - quite the opposite.  This mystery thriller is tense and propelling and full of secondary gains for the reader (take as much of the spiritual paths as you wish - or not). The `clean' adjective merely indicates that Rigdon can and does tell his story with language that is richly descriptive and at the same time is free of idiosyncrasies of word usage that ultimately detracts many readers form the momentum of a good tale.A high striker is a carnival machine where the men are asked to hit a plate with a sledge hammer with enough force to drive the connected plate up to ring the bell. The book is well titled in that HIGH STRIKER takes on many forms in addition to the definition just given. Rigdon begins his novel with actions of a famous neurosurgeon, Dr Amos Konklin, who is motivated to bludgeon to death certain people with a sledgehammer. And from there we trace back through Konklin's legacy of men who began life as graduate mechanical engineer Hugh Konklin who sidesteps his career by joining a carnival in response to his initial inability to make the high striker hit the bell. The next step is passed through Bill Konklin who inherits the carnival and as an orphan seeks to find some significance to his life as a carny. And then comes Amos and all the past and present is tied together through the well-written construct of a reporter who manages to uncover the background of our murderous neurosurgeon through the influence of the carnival experiences with the high striker.The plot sounds straight forward but with the gift of Rigdon he manages to weave his creation of Amos Konklin with a hefty brew of science and religious emphases and the questions of what defines and controls the differences between good/evil, sane/insane, and great design and pure coincidence keeps the noel fresh and exhilarating. Thought the opening section is the most tightly written and intriguing than the steps into the past, that is a minor flaw: once Rigdon has captured our attention with Dr. Amos and his executions he has us in his pocket. The rest of the book brings us back to the beginning in a most educating and entertaining way!  Grady Harp, November 12