State of Redemption

By Richard McKeown

Description:

District Attorney Tommy Branscum is running for Governor of Vermont. Scion of a prominent family steeped in law and politics, Milford’s native son seeks the prize that has long eluded his forebears. Matt Matheny has returned to his childhood home of Milford seeking to restart a life set adrift by the stillbirth of his only child and the unexpected death of his wife Liz just months later.

Two lives headed in opposite directions. Yet they share in common an event that occurred thirty years ago in the parking lot of the Milford Police Department. Tommy and Matt are the only living witnesses to the murder of Caroline Dawson, an innocent child from the wrong side of the tracks. What happened on that summer night has long been forgotten by most in the small community. But not by Caroline’s killer, her grieving parents, a parish priest, and a malevolent family patriarch. And not by a boy of ten unable to fully comprehend what he saw from a darkened alley.

Now, thirty years older and with Marianne Carpenter by his side, Matt makes a shocking discovery that rocks the town of Milford, shakes Vermont’s power structure to its core, and threatens their lives.

State of Redemption is a compelling novel by Richard McKeown that tells a story of how the privileged and the poor, the innocent and the guilty, and the good and the evil finally receive the justice they deserve. And the freedom they need.

Book Takeaway:

All are in need of redemption no matter what their status is in society. Unless and until they seek and receive it, they will never be completely free and able to enjoy and experience life in full.

Why the author wrote this book:

I began writing State of Redemption more as an escape than anything. It is set in a small town similar to the one in which I spent my early childhood. State of Redemption prompts the reader to ask themselves "Should the entirety of anyone's life be based entirely on the single worst thing they have ever done?" To a significant degree the answer to that question depends on whether one takes responsibility for what they did and seeks forgiveness and redemption. This is the underlying theme of the book and is something several characters face as the story plays out. And I hope it is a story that entertains and enriches along the way.