Books by Duke Southard

Detective Parker Havenot never felt vulnerable as a lone defender of justice. He could handle the bad guys himself. But when he adopts three children and becomes a family man, his life becomes more complicated -- especially when Alex Prohl, a convicted murderer set on revenge, is released after only five years in prison. This story of vengeance takes a dramatic turn when Havenot's teenage son goes missing while on a boating excursion. Suddenly the hunter and the hunted switch roles, and another murder hangs in the balance.Will the detective overcome his emotional involvement and think clearly enough to save the boy, or will Alex Prohl once again get away with murder?

Highly acclaimed for fiction filled with nuanced, believable characters, and suspenseful plots, author Duke Southard combines his stories for the first time alongside his compelling nonfiction essays in The Fallacy of Closure: And Other Award-Winning Short Stories and Essays.This eclectic collection comprises a variety of expertly crafted tales -- from a teacher's scary night ride on a frozen lake, broken dreams, growing up with a Greatest Generation father, the tragedy of losing a son, and an apocalyptic fantasy. The collection also includes "The Fallacy of Closure," winner of the 2016 Writer's Digest Literary Competition, and two bonus chapters from the upcoming Parker Havenot novel from Southard's popular detective series.

When Linda Phillips is found brutally murdered in her home, it appears to be an open-and-shut case. However, potential suspects multiply as Detective Parker Havenot digs deeper. He is finally left with only circumstantial evidence in a well-planned and executed crime.However, Detective Havenot isn't convinced by the circumstantial evidence. He has a hunch that Linda's tragic death is the last link in a chain of events that began deep within her past. Months pass, and his relentless pursuit of the truth produces no other leads except to uncover a side of the quiet, rural town that surprises the seasoned homicide detective. Will the trail grow cold before Parker can identify the killer?

Brad Wallace's obsession with vengeance has cost him his marriage, his career, and his life. When he disappears beneath the surface of Lake Winnipesaukee, his former friends consider it a sad end to a life that went off the rails long ago.But Detective Parker Havenot isn't convinced that the self-proclaimed agent for justice would give up so easily. He and his wife, Josie Wallace Havenot, suspect that Brad faked his own suicide as a cover for whatever new vigilante acts he's planned. Investigating a series of strange and seemingly unrelated events, Parker discovers that Brad is not only alive, but working with Univac Redux, a company carrying out nebulous technological experiments. Can Parker connect the dots before Brad makes his next move?

Bradford Wallace is a respected high school teacher who is sickened by the evils of society. Confronted by injustice at every turn -- assassinations, widespread racial discrimination, the escalation of the Vietnam War, the Kent State shootings -- he grows increasingly frustrated by his inability to make things right. When his wife goes into premature labor and delivers a stillborn baby, he becomes obsessed with the idea that Dr. Capaldi, her obstetrician, could have saved his son.Parker Havenot is a detective whose investigation of a strange hit-and-run incident involving Dr. Capaldi brings him into Brad Wallace's circle. Although Brad's behavior appears to be beyond reproach, Parker can't let go of the feeling that something is off about him. How far will Brad go to avenge the injustices he sees?

Jennifer Proctor, a wispy yet hauntingly beautiful young girl of ten, already qualified as one of those rare saints on earth. She had developed a sense of compassion far beyond her years and, unlike most children her age, is completely unselfish. When she innocently applies a gift that she neither understands nor wants to save a young boy's father from certain death in a racecar accident, Jennie affects the destiny of a whole family in ways she could not have dreamed. Only when her path crosses once again with Ross Becker years later does she learn of the powerful impact her kind-spirited intervention had on so many people and how he must now return her favor.Set between 1940 and 1963, A Favor Returned captures the changing dynamics of families, communities, and the country in the post-World War II era as prosperity and a confidence bordering on arrogance seemed to envelope the nation. The historical background mingles with the thread of possibility that there truly may be people on this earth who are in the world but not of it, people whose decency and honesty appear too good to be true. Coupled with this is the unsettling possibility that unselfish "saints on earth" may set into motion devastating and tragic consequences. Jennifer Proctor firmly believes that there is a loving God who has placed some people on earth to help others be happier, but time and again she must face the frustrating fact that He doesn't explain how the process is supposed to work. When Ross Becker is faced with the final heart-wrenching dilemma of A Favor Returned, he at last realizes the desperate and utter truth of Jennie's frustration.