Summerville SC Native Connie Froman Davis Offers Up An Intriguing Tale With Her Debut Novel

Jeff Walker,  Entertainment Writer / Book Review

Recurring reality meets inspired creativity in 'Death Writes Itself', the debut fictional novel from Summerville SC native Connie Froman Davis. Living in St. Samuel, a small coastal Georgia town Phoebe Evans longs to be the next Stephen King, turning out murder mysteries her adoring fans can't wait to read. However, the former big city lady with a criminal justice background suffers from bouts of writer's block. 

Financially secure thanks to her departed aunt's inheritance, Phoebe lives a rather routine life, working part time in the local library, when she's not enjoying the occasional drink with her friend Susie. Home is just as ordinary, spending her time with four-legged companions, putting pen to paper aimlessly trying to come up with a proper plot for her first book.

Can a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker provide suitable characters for Phoebe's literary launch, or are nursery rhymes types just too unrealistic? Perhaps. However they are no less interesting than a tailor, a shoe repairman, a tattoo artist, or a person who takes care of wayward pets.

As her mind wanders in dreamland, storylines change during Phoebe's rough draft, with one constant remaining throughout. Phoebe's hero, Lieutenant Joe bears a striking resemblance to a young Tommy Lee Jones. Problem is, how do you build a murder mystery around a particular version of an iconic actor.

Who gets murdered? How do the murders take place? Does Lt. Joe have a partner? Is he married? Does he have a family? How do you formulate a narrative around a main character without providing a backstory? Questions and plot twists Phoebe wrestles with on a daily basis.

While avoiding the nightly TV news and the morning paper allows Phoebe more time to write, it has also kept her disconnected from St. Samuel's current events. Can a murder mystery be developing around her? And can her naivete cause her to become part of the investigation? 

Connie Froman Davis offers up an intriguing debut novel about a murder mystery unfolding around a murder mystery, with a healthy dose of sensitive real-life situations thrown in the mix. Fact and fiction collide nicely over 300 easy to read pages.

If you're a fan of reading murder, suspense, and drama novels than 'Death Writes Itself' fits easily in your wheel-house. For more on Ms. Davis visit her website at https://conniefromandavis.com/