Review
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Title: The Trophy
Author: Keith N. Fisher
Publisher: Keith N. Fisher Publishing Project
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Year Published: 2016
Binding: Paperback
ISBN13: 9781535135740
Price: $15.99 (paper), $3.99 (Kindle)
Reviewed by Kristie Wilkins for the Association for Mormon Letters
[Editor’s note: Kristie has done a great job summarizing this book. As she mentions, it was published after the passing of the author. I concur with her desire that, if more of Mr. Fisher’s writings are made available, they should likewise see life in print. Acknowledging Fisher’s talent after his death is part of the honor we pay to all writers who successfully put pen to paper and give us worthwhile works. JN]
Christy Flemming is in a rut. A talented singer and performer, Christy has found that the road to the success she dreams of in the music industry is paved with countless nights singing in the Over the Rainbow Lounge. Paying her dues is barely paying the rent, making it necessary for Christy to take a day job to get by. When an opportunity presents itself to intern at the prestigious but mysterious company Rachelcom, Christy suddenly finds herself with opportunities and responsibilities that she never dreamed of but that threaten to overshadow her dreams of becoming a star.
From day one at Rachelcom, Christy is assigned tasks and security clearance far above her status as an intern. Christy quickly learns that life at Rachelcom is like looking at a funhouse mirror — things are seldom what they seem at first glance… or even after many glances! More and more of Christy’s time is consumed by her new responsibilities, leaving her relationships with friends and coworkers at Over the Rainbow Lounge strained and forcing her to put her singing on the back burner. When a gun suddenly appears in her desk at work, mysterious gifts begin arriving with alarming frequency, with the unsettling feeling of being watched increasing daily, Christy begins to wonder why she has been drawn into this world and if she will survive to see a future, let alone the fulfillment of her long-held dreams.
Keith N.Fisher is a talented storyteller, adept at keeping his readers just enough in the dark to suspect, but not be able to solve, the mysteries surrounding Christy Flemming until the end of the book. Mr. Fisher weaves a complicated tale of intrigue, danger and suspense that will keep his readers from being able to put the book down until they turn the last page.
One of the things that intrigued me about Fisher’s style was that he did not feel he had to resolve each character’s plot line with a happy ending. In fact, I am still struggling with the fate of one of the characters weeks after finishing the book. To avoid spoilers I will not say more, but, to me, this is is an indication of a writer with talent, one confident enough in his abilities to stay true to the most realistic outcome of a given scenario without catering to generalized audience expectations of happy endings.
That said, some elements of the story lines were a little far fetched even in the realm of fiction. I felt like Christy Flemming resolved her moral conflicts too quickly, too easily, and that left me disappointed in the main character. This would not have been distracting except that it happened repeatedly throughout the book. I also felt Mr. Fisher depicted the character of Caroline accepting her fate with surprising equanimity, thereby missing an opportunity for true emotional evolution of two of the book’s characters. However, none of these minor quibbles detracted from the mystery and suspense of the story.
I have read a lot LDS Fiction (a personal indulgence of mine) and I found the story every bit as engaging as my those of favorite LDS mystery/suspense authors. Fisher has a style that is reminiscent of Claire M. Poulson and personally, I felt that his writing was on par in quality and style with Mr. Poulson’s most recent works. Mr. Fisher has tremendous talent for storytelling and creating suspense in his readers.
With *very* few edits I would recommend “The Trophy” for wide publication. I believe there is a large audience of mystery lovers wherein this book would be well received.
“The Trophy” is the first published book for author Keith N. Fisher. Unfortunately it was published posthumously by loving family and friends. It is a shame that such a talented author didn’t live to see the fruition of his work and dreams as his writing is so imaginative and has such potential. I sincerely hope that he left behind more manuscripts for the world to enjoy and wait with anticipation for the opportunity to read more from the late Mr. Fisher in the future.