Backstory by William L. Myers, Jr. ~ a Review

by MK French

Jackson Robert Hunter wakes up in a pub after a head injury without his memory. He remembers flashes, and people know him. His wife apparently committed suicide, but other memories indicate she was likely murdered. In trying to avenge her murder, he discovers a lot about who he used to be, and not all of it is savory.

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June 2022; Oceanview Publishing; 978-1608094905
audio,ebook, print (320 pages); psychological thriller

Backstory is billed as a thriller in the vein of The Bourne Identity and Gone Girl. Bob's clues, in the beginning, are subtle: flashes of violence, a gun under the bed, people that he used to know. What he finds are clues that lead him across the country, from Kansas to Philadelphia, back through Kansas on the way to Las Vegas. Bob had also gone by Jackson, and he traces his history as a college student, then back to Philadelphia as a police officer, then off to Kansas where he reinvented himself as a Goodyear employee. Flashes of memory kick off other avenues for him to explore, and he finds that he has demons of all kinds in his past, all of which he had been running from.

I love how Bob never blames Helen for the depression that she suffers through, sits with her at her low points, and tries to understand her point of view. She's never vilified for it by her family or friends, and Bob never thinks less of her for having a mental illness. The only thing vilified is the hidden well of violence that had found multiple avenues throughout Jackson's life, which led to his poor choices that upset the good he had in life. Later on, we see how much he fears falling back into that well, but he also realizes that it's not the violence itself that's the thing to be afraid of, but misdirected and aimless violence. If it's channeled into righteous fury, into the need to do better, that could be something used to make the world a better place.

Reading this book has been a fascinating experience. It moves quickly, grabbing you by the throat and refusing to let go. While Jackson certainly isn't a good guy, he's not the evilest one in the book and he has an awareness that keeps him from repeating his mistakes. Most of the time. His backstory is full of mistakes, after all, but he reaches the end of this book having learned from them, finally changing and trying to do the right thing.

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Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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