The doorbell rings in the home of a prominent Palm Beach citizen, quickly followed by a shotgun blast that shatters a window, cracking the calm of a cool January night. Rodger Kriger falls to the floor, mortally wounded, leaving a wife and six children. Murder in Palm Beach: The Homicide That Never Died is closely based on a sensational, real murder that happened in the posh oceanside town in … town in 1976. In the thin guise of fiction, the book contains shocking new information never before made public. Author Bob Brink, an award-winning journalist, was a newspaper reporter in the locale where the sensational assassination occurred. It made media headlines for 15 years.
An ambitious prosecutor pins the deed on Mitt Hecher, a hoodlum and karate expert. At Hecher’s trial, fellow jail inmates testify that he confessed. He is convicted and sentenced to the brutal and anarchic state prison at Raiford, where a stabbing a day and a killing a week are the “mean” average.
Judges repeatedly frustrate Hecher and several attorneys working without fees to get a new trial, as investigators pursue myriad scenarios. Meanwhile, his wife contracts a deadly disease.
Was Hecher innocent, and if so, who did it? Did the sons of a wealthy Cuban kill Kriger? Were the operators of a gambling enterprise out to get him? Was a love triangle the basis for the shooting? Did a vicious underworld figure do the bidding of a criminal gang? Was a prominent politician behind the slaying? Those are the questions seeking answers amid the exploration of issues of justice and power.
Murder in Palm Beach is the saga of a battle between a man whose swagger has sent him spiraling to the bottom and powerful, sinister forces determined to keep him there. It is a story of redemption wrapped in a mystery tale reeking with power, sex, violence, and romance.
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Murder in Palm Beach is both a mix of fact and fiction by author and award-winning journalist Bob Brink. In it, he brings readers a fabulous, heated story about one man who was falsely accused of a murder in Palm Beach that he did not commit. He spent years in prison trying to prove his innocence with the help of others. Mitt Hecher was a gritty troublemaker, but he was not a murderer. In 1976, Mitt Hecher was on a new path with his new love, Diane, when the unthinkable happened, he was arrested for the murder of a notable Palm Beach man, Rodger Kriger. Finally, after 15 years in prison, Hecher was released and set out to discover who the real killer was. What follows is a lot of surprises and twists and turns as readers follow the unraveling of the horrendous story of the murder and who actually perpetrated it.
Author Bob Brink throws a lot at readers in the opening of the story. A shotgun murder, a wrongful conviction, an unscrupulous, corrupt law system, and many distrustful and shady people. All this brings the reader a feeling of shock and unease which leads to an overwhelming concern and sympathy for Mitt Hecher, the main character. He loses his life, and everything it entails, for a crime he did not commit. What an injustice, which happens all too often. He must prove his innocence against all odds, and that is what this book is all about.
Murder in Palm Beach by Bob Brink is an exciting, fast-paced read that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. I couldn’t put this book down and read it late into the night. I love true crime stories and this is one of the best ones I have ever read. The character development is superb, while the dialog is pure, excellent and very impressive.
Bob Brink has a way with words that keeps readers fully engaged. The storyline and plot are sheer genius, and oh so very entertaining. There is a lot going on in this story with sex, unjust use of power, romance, murder, investigations and much more. Murder in Palm Beach is intriguing, engrossing and fully compelling. It is thought provoking and very interesting. This is a real page turner and a riveting political crime thriller. An innocent man wrongly convicted, set free to exact justice and find the real killer. This is a must-read book for all avid true-crime readers. Highly recommended by Artisan Book Reviews.
This book grabbed me and drew me in from the first chapter. It’s a scary account at how our criminal justice works. The protagonist Mitt Heckler wasn’t a choir boy by no means but what happened to him was beyond belief, the sad part is that it happens more than we the public knows. I’ve read excerpts from other reviews and I have to agree this would be a great television mini-series. I would watch it for sure.
This is one of those books you will start reading and not realize how much time is past before your eight chapters in and still do not want to stop reading. I have come to love Bob Brown books I wish he had more. He is such an intriguing and interesting author who really knows how to catch your attention and keep it. He doesn’t use the same old tropes and he always puts his own spin on every story. I can’t express how much respect and awe I have for Bob break when I’m done with yet another great book by him. I am so glad I found this author. Do you self a favor and read one of his books today. I recommend this one it is so good!