“Pushing daises” is often referred to people dead and
buried, but in the mind of a serial killer they all become flowers in a garden
as told in the new noir novel by M.
Everett Baylor titled, The Garden.
Projecting snippets of thoughts from a tormented mind,
twisted by child abuse and sexual violence, the formation of a serial killer is
rather logically developed. Starting as a young lad, the runt of two twin boys,
torn away from his twin brother because of physical deformities and the need
for medical procedures beyond the affordability of his biological parents, his
life is left to the fate of foster parents.
Continuously being bullied in school, abusively disciplined by his
father, and sexually tortured by those he trusts, his life is carelessly
plucked from his family and placed into a system of bureaucratic ambivalence;
all too often allowing for the innocent cast-offs of children to become victims
of violence and sexual abuse. The system
perpetuates a haven for dysfunctional adults to have their way with young
children whose only wish is to seek a home and safety.
M. Everett Baylor interleaves a rather terse dialogue
throughout The Garden perpetuating an
impression of normalcy juxtaposed against the hidden agenda of “adding flowers
to the garden,” which means victims to their graves. This frightening dichotomy of personalities within
his character is hauntingly eerie as the victims become trapped like an insect
in a predator’s grasp. With revenge as a
motive, the townspeople are faced with a killer among them, hiding in plain
sight. In many ways this storyline
parallels some of the serial killing profiles such as Jeffrey Dahmer or that of
David Berkowitz, better known as the “Son of Sam.”
I found The Garden
to have some disturbing scenes, by design of course, but making it in my
opinion not suitable for young adult reading due to gruesome violence, child
abuse and the underlying theme of vengeance.
A somewhat more mature audience, looking for simplicity in a storyline
with insightful murderous circumstances would, however, find this very
entertaining. The Garden moves swiftly, having for the most part predictable
dialogue but does pack a punch with a clever twist that I must say was very artfully
foreshadowed. The Garden will definitely leave an impression on all readers. M. Everett Baylor has written The Garden as the premier book of his
series titled, The Montclair Murders. Just knowing there is a sequel tells you
one thing – the devil is still out there! It teaches all readers, so articulately quoted
by the author, “Death comes with a smile, a dozen roses, and hungry for a
meal.”
