Author’s Note (Front of Book) — minor edit, Feb. 4, 2022

Author’s Note (Front of Book)

 

In 2005, two-thirds of this book was published in hardcover by Macmillan/Forge  titled Perfect Killer. This edition — Hellhound — incorporates the missing third, along with all of the words in the previously published  version.

Please see “The accidental 3-book novel” in the End Papers for more details.

The drastic cuts dismayed me because they contained the essence of what I wanted to explore as  the contrary offspring of long line of Faulknerian decadent Southern aristocracy. Specifically, I’m the disinherited scion of a Mississippi Delta plantation and a direct descendant of a U.S. Senator who played a foundational role in creating Jim Crow segregation.

This restored edition restores the heart of a personal exploration: Why do good people do evil things? How and why do they make choices that determine the paths they take? My characters consider these questions as they struggle to survive evil and prevail over it. They reflect my deep desire to explore the science of consciousness, free will, nature versus nurture and the genetic and physical brain injuries that can can turn moral people evil. My protagonist — a neurosurgeon — also wrestles with current quantum theories underpinning consciousness.

Fundamentally this is also an exploration of my own personal choices and forces that made me different, and resulted in alienation from my family, and ancestry.

Why did I write Hellhound?

Please see End Paper #1: “Personal Decisions, Choices & Consequences.”

How did I create a fictional thriller based on fact?

Please see End Paper #2: “Write what you know.”