Continued from Home Page...
Her Britt Montero series is in many ways a self-portrait and usually involves multiple story lines. Edna is a master of character development. Members of the COLD CASE SQUAD spring to life on the pages of her books. In LEGALLY DEAD, she introduced a new tough-as-nails hero, Michael Venturi. Is he dead or...alive?
In her new book, A DARK AND LONELY PLACE (to be published by Simon & Schuster in November 2011), Edna combines historic events, the true story of the Ashley gang, legendary Florida outlaws in the early 20th century, with the modern adventures of their direct descendants in Miami today. This may be her best book ever, with star-crossed love, family ties, duplicity and murder woven into a suspenseful, heart-pounding story. Which era was more violent and corrupt? And, can those of us who carry the outlaw imprint of violence and tragedy in our DNA break the cycle? Can we change our destinies or must the story always end the same way? How powerful is the pull of the past? The answer may surprise you!
Notes on A DARK AND LONELY PLACE, by Edna Buchanan
Who is John Ashley?
An outlaw legend in his own lifetime, his spirit is alive in Florida where he was born one hundred and twenty-three years ago.
He killed a man in November, 1911 and was sentenced to hang. He denied the crime and always insisted he acted in self defense. There were no witnesses.
John Ashley, the finest marksman in the state, was declared Florida’s most dangerous man. For years lawmen blamed him for every bank robbery, train robbery and gunshot fired. Pioneer developer Carl Fisher even placed a price on his head, fearing that Ashley would scare off tourists and cripple land sales.
Pioneers along Florida’s wild frontier supported Ashley. His friends and big close knit family stood with him, as did the star-crossed love of his life, the woman he’d remain faithful to forever.
State and federal lawmen pursued him. During Prohibition, the British declared Ashley an international pirate and dispatched gunships to blast him out of Bahamian waters.
For years he eluded them all. Ashley encountered an insatiable press, overcrowded jails, the suspicious deaths of prisoners in police custody, corruption, ultimate betrayal, and tragedy that destroyed him and those who loved him.
But, John Ashley lives today in the courageous spirit of Miamians who face the same dangers, perils, and pursuers that he did generations ago.
It is all happening again. Now.
(John Ashley, in the white suit and black eye patch, is greeted by prison officials who welcomed the notorious outlaw and accomplished escape artist for a long stretch at Raiford penitentiary. He didn’t stay long.)
