High Striker confronts the question: What is the line that separates good and evil, coincidence and providence, delusion and reality?
In 2018, Dr. Amos Konklin, a renowned neurosurgeon dubbed “Doctor Golden Hands,” is arrested for a grisly double-homicide at the Old Wilderness Campground. During a mesmerizing interview with reporter Peter Wild, Dr. Konklin reveals a shocking secret. For decades he’s wrapped those golden hands around a twelve pound sledge-hammer, his instrument of choice in numerous executions. As the reporter probes deeper, he is lead into a world where a brain surgeon who spent his childhood running the “High Striker” carnival sideshow game is connected to Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, The Bible, and tormenting visions. High Striker is an unparalleled Old Testament/Carnivale thriller whose central character could be described as a God-obsessed fusion of Hannibal Lecter, Dexter Morgan, and a carny. It’s a remarkable journey through time and place and dares to confront the challenging question: What is the line that separates good and evil, coincidence and providence, delusion and reality?
Professional Reviews
Mindquest Review of High Striker
Subject: The riveting Konklin family thriller mixes religious motivation with depravity while brilliantly depicting the dichotomy of human nature. The murders by brain surgeon Amos Konklin, using a carnival striking machine sledgehammer, are electrifying. Patriarch and engineer, Hugh Konklin quit his job and joined the carnival to run the striking machine game. Second generation Bill Konklin was left in carnival life-all high strikers in their own way.
Noteworthy: The novel’s theme, a striking machine (patented 9/8/08), induced carnival visitors to use a sledgehammer to strike a ball to the top to ring the bell to win a prize, combined with religion and profane acts, seeks to uncover the genius as a composite entity. The book is a literary, deep work of art.
In the waning days of World War II, a man lies injured in a London hospital, shrouded in mystery and confusion. He is an American serviceman, stripped of his identity and memories, save for the name John, and plagued by vivid visions of battles that
