Don't Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp
Marshall Karp has written a standout captivating novel with so many unimagined twists and heart-racing turns that you won’t want Don’t Tell Me How to Die to end. Before beginning a successful third act career as a mystery and thriller writer, Karp spent 20 years as a top executive in the advertising industry then left for another notable profession in Hollywood as a series creator, writer and producer.
Collaborating with James Patterson on the first six novels in the NYPD-Red series of police thrillers fully launched Karp’s soul-satisfying work as a wordsmith and storyteller. A second series featuring characters Lomax and Biggs followed, with a more recent focus on stand-alone works of fiction.
A Deceptively Cunning Thriller
Don’t Tell Me How to Die is deceptive. For approximately half of the book, one might not suspect murder features prominently on the menu. It gives the gentler impression of being a poignant human interest family relationship drama with a beloved wife and mother of two coping with a fast-acting terminal illness.
It could be Love Story or The Fault in Our Stars for the middle-aged; guaranteed to be a harrowing tear-jerker. Except it isn’t. Hardly any of the characters deserve much sympathy, although they are uniquely fascinating, and this ever-evolving tale will keep you reading into the wee hours.
Shocking Opening — or Diversion?
The novel opens as the body of Minna Schultz, a universally disliked Commercial Realtor/Developer, floats head down on the surface of Magic Pond directly into an on-camera shot of Heartstone, New York’s big man on camera, 6’8” tall Irv Hollingsworth, local TV weatherman, reporting during a 30 hour long deluge that has caused extensive flooding. Viewers sipping their breakfast coffee were served a shock along with their morning forecast.
Minna might have made enemies with nearly everyone in town, and her death initially seemed suspicious, but a thorough forensic investigation concluded it was suicide. She had been diagnosed with depression and took a medication for the condition as prescribed. Recently, she had expressed remorse about a project she was involved in that ousted lower-income, longtime residents.
Was this a red herring of the author to serve as a distraction from the tragedy that has befallen protagonist Maggie Dunn, who at 17 lost her 43-year-old mother to a rare, fast-acting blood disease? Maggie is the loser in this genetic lottery as she is the same age as her beloved mother when she receives the same diagnosis and a life expectancy of about 3 months.
A Happy Couple with Troubled Pasts
Twenty-six years earlier, Maggie had temporarily slid off the rails after her mother’s funeral. The bright, vivacious straight-A student dove into a hedonistic orgy of sex, drink and other drugs until she wised up, met her future husband Alex Dunn and reverted to her previous micro-managing, outstanding student and model citizen self.
Maggie is an attorney now serving as Mayor of their thriving small town with Alex, her perfect husband and father to their teenage twins Kevin and Katie. Alex had worked his way through medical school and rose to the position of Chief Surgeon at Heartstone Medical Center.
When he was a tiny baby, Alex was left in a box deposited in a Dillon’s grocery cart on the doorstep of the fire department. The Fire Chief and his wife had lost their son Dylan in Vietnam and considered this a sign from beyond to raise this foundling. Alex overcame the resulting abandonment issues to be well-liked by all who knew him and particularly adored by his patients and their families.
Maggie’s … Unconventional Final Days
Maggie is determined to spend her final weeks identifying the perfect woman to take her place as Alex’s second wife and stepmother to their children. She does not want him to endure what happened to her sudden widower father, who was inundated with casseroles and invitations of all types by women standing in line, ready to provide solace and lasting security.
Unfortunately, her father fell for a charming, attractive out-of-state serial predator who pounced on unsuspecting well-off recent widowers she found by researching obituary columns. Marriage was avoided, but by the time she was unmasked, she had vanished with their mother’s late-model cherry red Mustang and all of her best jewelry.
A Thrilling Adrenaline Rush
Don’t Tell Me How to Die is an adrenaline rush of revenge, betrayals and crafty deceitfulness bombarding the unsuspecting reader from several vantage points with deft touches of off-beat humor that you will not see coming. Marshall Karp has crafted a cunning thriller packed full of surprises right up to the final revealing sentence.
This reviewer should confess that the only minor thing that was off-putting is the stark black and gray cover with a slash of blood red at the bottom. Some readers and reviewers claim not to be influenced by book covers or catchy titles, but I contend these choices do exert a subtle difference of effect. Initially, I delayed reading this selection for this reason, but once started, found I could not put it down.
Marshall Karp is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a TV and screenwriter, documentarian and playwright. Working with James Patterson, Marshall cocreated and cowrote the NYPD Red series. After six bestsellers, Marshall has carried the series forward on his own, beginning with NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority. Marshall is also the author of Snowstorm in August, as well as the critically acclaimed Lomax and Biggs novels, featuring LAPD Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs. For over 20 years he has worked closely with the international charity Vitamin Angels, providing tens of millions of mothers and children around the globe with lifesaving vitamins and nutrients.
