One Voice Too Many
Paul Martin Midden
AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
978-1-4634-1326-2, $21.00, 2011
With a myriad of novels being published today, readers are sometimes inundated with choices. Many of the suspense novels now are cookie-cutter stories – the same basic plotline pieced together with new characters and settings. Author Paul Martin Midden gives his readers something distinctive and his work is anything but conventional or predictable. His third novel, “One Voice Too Many” is no exception.
Published through AuthorHouse, the book follows protagonist Jeremy Walker as he begins with a psychotic episode and then flashes back and follows the gradual process which has brought him to this unfortunate predicament. An abusive childhood, lost loves, and a meticulous lifestyle all weave in and out of Jeremy’s consciousness as he attempts to make his latest relationship with Macy work, even if it kills him. Despite his contented exterior, turmoil simmers below the surface and Jeremy finds himself not quite alone in his thoughts. What exactly is going on in Jeremy’s head?
“One Voice Too Many” is definitely a different approach to fiction…or different than what I expected. I really liked how many details were included regarding Jeremy’s daily processes and habits. These brought him to life and made him absolutely fascinating. And while details were plentiful and sometimes long-described, I didn’t find the story to be dull at any point. I was, however, left with a lot of unanswered questions after reading the last page. Would Macy ever find out what Jeremy was planning before his psychotic episode? Would he simply pick up where he left off once he was released? Did he beat his second wife to death? (If he had a blackout at the beginning of the book, I’d think it was possible for him to have already had some and not known it.) And why wasn’t the Voice a more prominent part of the story as the title suggests it is? There were only a handful of times where it speaks to Jeremy. I wasn’t satisfied with what I was left with upon finishing the book and despite the 428 pages, I wanted more!
The bottomline, though is that I really liked the story. It had me thinking about the plot and characters long after I’d finished reading. “One Voice Too Many” isn’t your run-of-the-mill suspense thriller. Those looking for something more than ‘typical’ – something that will throw your head for a loop – will enjoy Midden’s unique style. And as a fellow St. Louisian, I’m excited to be able to review a local author!