Amazon author's site Category:  Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Electric eBook Publishing ISBN-10:  1553520017 Type: Fiction Pages: 195 Copyright: Oct 1 2000 As children they swore not to tell- but one of them did. Now only two of the witnesses of a brutal murder on a hippie commune remain...and they're terrified. Mike and Rainie were only children at the time of the murder. It was its cover-up that warped all their growing years. Now, as adults, they are reunited to find the killer after their commune friends are found dead. Who told their secret? What is the true identity of the murderer known only as "Snake"?

Zem-Zem a mystery
Zem-Zem a mystery
By Paula Wild
Comox Valley Record Arts Writer

Set in the not-too-distant past, Zem-Zem a mystery is the story about children who witness a murder and are haunted by it as adults. Author Jeanie duGal will be reading, signing and selling books at Joe Read's Internet Cafe at 8:00 p.m., Oct. 18. The free event is also a Libra Birthday Bash.
duGal is no stranger to writing. She's honed her craft under the watchful eye of well-known B.C. writer Anne Cameron, and has previously published an eBook titled The Indignity of Survival. Many will recognize her name as a reporter/ columnist for the Island Word.
Zem-Zem tells the story of Mike and Rainie, two children who spend time in a hippie commune. Then they, and some other children, witness a brutal murder. Rainie's mother disappears with the murderer and several days later social services apprehends the children and separates them. They had pledged to keep the murder secret and they do, until one by one, everyone that was involved begins to die.
When Mike meets up with Rainie many years later, he's an ex-con fresh out of prison and she's agoraphobic. They're also terrified that the murderer will find them.
Zem-Zem contains other voices as well. One of my favorites is Charlie, a little girl who, through no fault of her own, is drawn into the intrigue. DuGal has done an excellent job of portraying the world through Charlie's eyes. Another engaging character is Marion, an older woman from the commune, once known as Happy.
Part of the fun of Zem-Zem is recognizing familiar landmarks both here in the Valley and on the Lower Mainland. duGal has a lean, spare style that conveys a distinct impression of place and person.
According to duGal, Zem-Zem began as a series of short stories. "But I couldn't achieve closure, I needed more space to resolve the issues," the 54-year-old says.
Although duGal admits to having knowledge of many of the situations in Zem-Zem, she says the book is fiction. "Sometimes fiction is the only way to tell the truth," she explains. "There is a nugget of truth in everything that happens in Zem-Zem but it has all been fictionalized."