Diary of a Dead Man
Walter Krummrumm
Bridgeway Books

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Walter Krumm’s – "Diary of a Dead Man" follows one Cam, Cameron, Taylor as he anxiously endeavors to disentangle himself from the horrific mess in which he has gotten himself ensnared.

Who might have supposed that responding to a bland instant message that had popped up on his computer might have lead to murder, danger and more.

It was actually on a Thursday, June 1 to be exact, that the date of their first tangible meeting after so many messages was to take place. Those messages between he and Emily which had begun innocently had soon progressed to messages that were more hot and steamy and a whole lot less commonplace and mundane.

Cam was troubled with mixed feelings regarding the situation. He had been married for fifteen years to Julie, and Cam had strong belief that adultery is wrong. He had long felt there is no justification for such behavior, plus it was time to face the fact that he could not go through with actually committing the act.

Cam did have the best intentions; he had made the decision to break off the almost ‘affair’ with Emily. That was before he received his morning email from Emily. Following that email; all his good intentions disappeared.

In point of fact; Cam had made the hotel reservations even before he received that significant email. With that email went all resolution to cancel the reservation.

From that foundation the reader is plunged hurriedly into an appalling state of affairs filled with extortion, demise, sexual flight of the imagination, and just plain apprehension.

As this fast-paced crime novel persists, Cameron must plan a course through a shadowy complex of deceit, fatality, and deception that presents peril not only his own life but to the lives of his family.

Whether he can truly disentangle the chaos, and protect his family, much less his own life remains manifestly thorny.

Indistinguishable figures, Emily, Nemesis, are names found on the instant messages. Terrible decisions follow dire decisions leading to a spiral threatening to twist completely out of control.

It when Cam at last grasps that not only has he been set up, but he is only one person in a long line of others who have been similarly victimized; that he commences to become conscious that he is in the fight for his life if he is to break away from not only the extortion, but with his family undamaged and perhaps, hopefully, himself still living.

Author Krumm has crafted a compelling tale devised to move the reader into the realm of intensity, misconduct and ill will. Cam Taylor is set up to bear all responsibility for a slaying he did not commit, while the authentic executors remain untroubled, and enriched.

The worst of it, as Cam sees it, is the fact that it is not he alone who is caught up in this subterfuge, but like ripples in a pond when a stone is tossed into it; the ripples seem to persist outward to reach many more than just this one man.

Taylor is compelled into a situation where he must struggle to keep his life, shelter his family and force Nemesis to leave him alone. He has little hope that he can rely on anyone other than himself.

Krumm’s debut novel is carried out with a precision belying his lack of other works. Characters are well detailed; circumstances, milieu and plot are all abundantly developed, tension is maintained from opening lines to final pages.

The saga draws to an agreeable finale leaving the reader hoping there will be more exciting works from this writer to be had in the near future.

Happy to recommend Walter Krumm’s – "Diary of a Dead Man" for those who enjoy a fast paced chiller of a mystery, as well as those who just like a well written work packed with accomplishment, captivating characters and a good bit of apprehension.