The Dark Cabin Murders

by Frank L. Gertcher

Frank L. Gertcher weaves an exquisitely crafted Civil War era murder-mystery. The story includes good detective work by Jeremiah and James, romance between key characters and insight with regard to the battle of good and evil within the human soul. Frank uses vivid dialogue between characters and emotional first person thoughts to let readers vicariously experience love and hate, rage and remorse, ecstasy and fear, joy and sadness. Yet always, accurate descriptions of historical events and scenes are there, and the reader is immersed in time and place, just like the characters.

318 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2018

About the author

My wife Linda and I travel the world doing research for my books. Our home is in the lovely Shell Point Retirement Community near Fort Myers, Florida. I was born in Clinton, Vermillion County, Indiana. For many years, my father and I fished and trapped on the Wabash River for a major portion of our family income. My teenage years were spent on a farm in Sullivan County. As an adult, my degrees include a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MS in Engineering Management, an MBA and a PhD in Economics. I served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force. I had another 22-year career as a scientist and engineer, building weapon systems for the Department of Defense. My publications include six books and a number of papers in scientific journals. I traveled to and lived in many places around the world, but I am still a Hoosier at heart.

Reviews

[Isabel Hinen]

I just couldn't get into this. Between the lore of "oh this hill has a good spirit and this ravine has an evil spirit" and the whole CHAPTER dedicated to describing a HILL, it did not keep my interest whatsoever. Perhaps I didn't give it a fair chance as I didn't finish it (I reached the end of the chapter where the Worthingtons got off the boat and the description of how the parents swindled people, which wasn't very far in), but I felt that it was overly descriptive and underwhelming on the story part. Every single person, place, or thing had at least two sentences worth of descriptive material with lengthy adjective/adverb use, if not a whole entire chapter devoted to describing one thing, as in the case of Wind Grass Hill. Yet somehow none of the people or things appeared to be very lifelike even with all those descriptive words. I honestly felt like it was all filler material to make up for lack of depth in the actual plot. I normally don't write scathing reviews but I just felt like the author was trying to meet a word count, and didn't have a real story to tell.

That's all I have to say. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[Mcke]

Boring.

If you're expecting this to be spooky or scary in any way, turn away - you will be disappointed.
A vast majority of it is "ho-hum" daily life for small towns people.
Another large chunk is dedicated to the writers interest in history, at least, the history white males would prefer.

The native nations of the U.S are basically non-existent, black folk are barely mentioned and only in a passing "we don't support slavery" sort of way towards the end so that he can leap into his dreamscape of participating in the civil war. I need to note that he makes reference to the fact that most whites were not slave owners - although true, it's still smacks of apologist when the entire U.S. system is rigged in favor of white people regardless of their status because those "non-slave owners" voted to segregate and refuse equal rights.
The author's knowledge of history is relegated to the stereotypical subjects that allure to white men - civil war and industry. He wrote about a couple getting married in a "white wedding gown" and a "black suit" ... in 1850?? Little does he know the white wedding dress was a status symbol for the ultra wealthy started by Queen Victoria in 1840.
A podunk country family in 1850 could not afford it - and that was the entire point. Same with white wedding cakes - white sugar was a symbol for the mega-wealthy.
Anytime it comes to historical subjects that would be considered "feminine" it is basically shrugged off and ignored - which makes the entire landscape as flat as the B.S. they teach in primary school

I would say none of the female characters have any substance other than Maude who is written as being tolerated by the men-folk, demanding, and sexually manipulative.
Most all the rest of the women and girls are just "pretty" and "nice"... no depth whatsoever.

The main "murder" of the book doesn't even really match the pretext they try to present it as...
Two con-artists get caught conning another con-artist and a fight ensues. When one of them gets shot they're all absolutely beside themselves about the "murder"... uh sorry, bruv, they probably wouldn't have seen this as a murder.
It's highly doubtful that suddenly the two adults would see their son in some new sort of light by shooting some guy who is attacking his parents...

The whole book was bland and shallow.
Suggestion to the auther: study true American history.

Another note - the author likes poetry. Every chapter has at least a poem or three.
Although I enjoy poetry, I have to be in the exact right headspace for it, so I'm typically skimming over these or skipping them completely.

[Nancy]

I encountered the author of this book at a Barnes & Noble who asked me to give his book a try, so I did. I made it about 10% of the way through / 32 pages before giving up. The book is supposed to be about a cabin owned by a pair of scam artists who take people in and then kill them. This is according to the synopsis on the back of the book which interestingly is not how the author described his book. The author described his book as about a teenage boy who runs away and ends up in the US Civil war as a drummer boy. Anyway, in the parts I read, there was a description of a preacher traveling around the countryside and ministering to people he encounters and thinking in verse while riding his horse. Then the 2nd chapter abruptly shifts to the Paleozoic and Ice Age era and the author tells us about how the land was formed, just in case, you know, you forgot. Chapter three jumps ahead a few thousand years and we're back to the 1800's and a husband-and-wife pair of scam artists. And that was where I left the book. I'm sorry, I just couldn't sustain disbelief for another page. This book really, really needs an editor. An editor to cut this and that out and reinstate proper punctuation and capitalize proper nouns. I'm sure it's an interesting story, but it is bogged down by it's excesses.

[Delaney McGuinness]

Through his poetic prose and heavy sprinkles of history, Gertcher transports you to a whole different world- early 1800’s Indiana.

The Dark Cabin Murders is laced with the idea of Good vs. Evil, a theme that is prominent throughout the book. The subject is almost pictorial through the use of Gertcher’s fantastical depictions of the surrounding landscape and of the characters wants and desires. The description of the landscape gave me a strong urge to paint what Gertcher’s imagination had provided.

The plot of the book itself kept me intrigued from start to finish. The events that take place in the book ripple throughout until they become waves and crash, opening up new mysteries and challenges. If you like mysteries, The Dark Cabin Murders should be on your list to read.

Highly recommended for readers who appreciate a truly good story. This book is a treasure for those who find beauty and peace in quality literature

[Kate]

Full disclosure: I'm related to the author

This is a historical fiction story that spans one boy's whole life--beginning when he is a young boy and ending on when he has a young son of his own. It has mystical elements in the form of the two influencing forces--the Spirit of the Dell and the Spirit of Windgrass Hill. If you're a fan of poetry, there is some scattered through the book, and fans of history will get a look into the history of Indiana--specifically Terre Haute, as well as the Civil War. Although this book would probably be best enjoyed by adult audiences, it is still fairly safe for younger readers (there is a murder, after all).

[Kathy]

Wow, what a book! I didn’t think I was going to like it much in the beginning, and even contemplated not finishing it. So glad I did. I loved these characters, especially Thomas and James. I felt I had come to know them so well. I also came to know the setting, as it was so brilliantly described. The style of writing was a bit new to me, but I enjoyed it immensely. I also liked the poetry scattered throughout. I had the pleasure of meeting the author at Barnes and Noble in The Villages, where he sat at a small table with a stack of the books. It caught my attention and he convinced me to buy the book. Thanks, Frank! So glad I did!

[Natalie Kemnis]

El escritor estaba firmando su libro en una tienda de Barnes & Noble. Me indicó que estaba ambientado en la Guerra Civil.
Es un libro interesante, entrenido y que te mantiene intrigado hasta el final. Si podría ser editado y mejorado, pero la historia vale la pena.
Está disponible sólo en inglés.

[Chad]

Excellent writing here. A very good mystery and the facts for the time period are spot on. Very well done. As I live in Indiana this book was very entertaining.

[John McCarthy]

The Dark Cabin Murders was a very good read. It felt like I was actually there as the story progressed. Great description of the characters and locales. I highly recommend this book.

[Doreen Calderon]

A slow read could not commit to reading past page 75.

[Darren Martinez]

It was a decent book but got repetitive towards the end. I also wanted more action because I liked the story but should have had more action towards the end. Some storylines didn’t add much to the story and I was wondering why I was reading about certain characters if they weren’t integral to the plot. Okay but could have been much better.