Heartless Cruelty: A Mr. Bachman Mystery

1983. The New Jersey shore. William Bachman, Mr. Bachman to hundreds of students and graduates of Atlantis High and their parents, believes that truth can be found if you try to write it down. And despite what some people think of him, he doesn’t believe in heroes. He believes in protagonists. “…Your victim is nowhere to be found, your villain is the victim. So who the hell is the hero?” “Hero?” Bachman said. “Hope your story has one,” R2 said. “I don’t—“ “Because without a hero, not only is your story not really a story,” R2 said as he worked, drawing three beers from the taps without breaking eye contact with Bachman. “Irregardless of whether it’s about murder or child abuse, it don’t matter. But more important, without a hero, you got no happy ending.” “But who… There is no hero,” Bachman said. “Then it don’t matter who’s right,” R2 said, “or what kinda story it is. ’Cause whether that kid is the victim, the villain, or both, either way he’s totally screwed.” A crackling mystery, a passionate love story, a desperate race to save a motherless child who may not want to be saved. This is the first book in the Mr. Bachman series. The next Mr. Bachman mystery, a prequel, is coming in 2013. Keep up with the latest on Mr. Bachman at www.richardgoffman.blogspot.com. HEARTLESS CRUELTY is for anyone who has ever been a student... or a teacher. Despite Mr. Bachman’s protestation that “…heroism is a myth …There were protagonists, not heroes,” anyone who can recall a teacher who stood out as particularly caring and wise will recognize the potential for heroism in that iconic figure. Anyone who teaches or has taught will see something of his or her best self in Mr. Bachman. If you remember a special teacher who changed your life, you will enjoy reading HEARTLESS CRUELTY, the first book in the Mr. Bachman series. If you are a teacher, or if you know a teacher, or if you’ve ever loved a teacher, you will love HEARTLESS CRUELTY, the first book in the Mr. Bachman series. HEARTLESS CRUELTY is A twisted murder mystery. A passionate romance. A tale of political and moral corruption set in the not-so-idyllic Jersey shore town of Atlantis. The first in a series of novels about a complex, flawed, heroic champion for young people, and for the real, effective, life-saving power of the written word. Go to www.richardgoffman.blogspot.com to learn more, to read a sample, to chat with the author, and to purchase.