The Man from Yesterday

He still basks in the glory of yesterday. Known in his hometown, he's forgetting who and what he is in the present. "The Lieutenant" of yesteryeAr is now called "the Captain" at his current post. His personna is of a humble man (said he has a lot to be humble for) but it's all put on, just an image to impress those who don't know the truth of the matter. It's not real life at all to falsify one's background and allow one's own son to attack an innocent person as he did. He has finally influenced one person to believe in him wholeheartedly while others who know him doubt his authenticity. He's a dignified man suffering through the aging process which startes with forgetting necessary facts to live in today's world. Forgetting is what comes first, but it does not always man Alzheimer's. Some things are best not to remember, and so Charles staggers around two blocks in his old neighborhood (afraid to go futher or he will get lost) in the evenings to see if anything has changed. He does know his neighbor who gave him a hug on "Hug Your Neighbor" day. That's funny. He's just an old man who remembers the years he loved being alive, and yet he is not ready to cross over to the other side just yet. He has trips to take with Dolly, and places to go with Karl. Anything else can wait until another day. He prefers to live in yesterday when things were good and easy to bear. It was good then, so why not.

The mind can be a tricky thing. The name of someone you just met might escape your remembrance while at the same time the name of some classmate in elementary school from decades ago can't be forgotten. How many of us have forgotten our home phone number from time to time? For retired Detective Lieutenant Jack Lehman it seems to be happening more and more. As the novel opens, he knows one thing for sure. A former snitch of his, the name he can't remember, reached out and by phone told him that a big heist of over a million dollars had happened. The phone call had come after a long night when he was tormented by the fact that he simply could not remember the name of who his favorite late night talk show host was as he watched him on TV. He was still more asleep than awake when his snitch called and now, as he sits in front of Captain Hewitt, who runs his old 32nd District, he is humiliated and embarrassed. As Captain Hewitt points out, while Jack can't remember the name, a heist that big means the police should have heard something. Jack knows that is true but he also knows the call happened. Driven by a need to prove himself as well as to dispel the notion that he is nothing more than a senile old man, Jack begins to work the case. A case that leads back to the past and scores unsettled. Beset by his own memory problems and the assumptions of others, including his family that he is suffering from senility or early stage Alzheimer's, Jack continues to push the case with little outside help others than from writer Colin Ryan who believes the former Lieutenant is on to something that could turn into a book for him. While the novel does shift in point of view occasionally, the story is told primarily from the viewpoint of Jack Lehman. In so doing, the reader is treated to the viewpoint of a man who knows his memory is weakening and yet at the same time is sure that there is a case. A case that while shadowy and vague has some substance to it if he can just start pulling the pieces together. He also knows how others, including his family, feel about him and know that because of those assumptions, they aren't going to take him seriously. That pain of self awareness as he rages against the dying of the light flows throughout the entire novel. Featuring a complex central character dealing with the efforts of aging on so many levels, this novel becomes an engrossing story that works across the board. It becomes easy to cheer each success Jack has and suffer the agony of each setback. This book, much like "Witness To Myself" also from this author, pulls the reader into a world of personal pain and obsession where the character is on a hunt for vindication. Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006

I was pulled in from the first page and it kept getting stronger. It flows good and has a great story line plus strong Characters. I think this Novel is destined to become a Best Seller. Jean Premeau Author of Station In Life.

When retired Detective Lieutenant Jack Lehman receives a phone call from a former snitch telling him of a one-half million-dollar heist that's occurred, his first instinct is to inform his ex-colleagues at the Westend Detective District station house of the crime. A strange thing happens, though, shortly after he begins telling his story to the current captain: he forgets the names of the snitch and of the victim of the heist. His credibility shot, he leaves the station in shame. Embarrassed by this performance, and anxious because his memory seems to be deserting him, Lehman decides to investigate and see what he can turn up himself. Although he possesses sound instincts, his memory constantly betrays him, leading the police and his family to conclude he's going senile. The only person who doesn't think Lehman is losing his edge is the perpetrator, who decides the ex-cop must be taken out of the picture. The author of thirteen novels, Shubin knows how to keep a reader's attention, delivering a crackerjack mystery story featuring a man in a life and death struggle against both old age and decay and the criminal element he's determined to bring to justice. Lehman's despair is almost palpable: the audience, which knows Jack is not crazy, can only watch helplessly as those he loves and respects challenge his every assertion and act. Truly courageous, Lehman is a character who will win the hearts and the minds of readers, who can't help but root for this tough, determined underdog.

Seymour Shubin has crafted a pitch-perfect crime novel. Part Cornell Woolrich, part Ed McBain, The Man From Yesterday features retired detective Jack Lehman, a man who finds himself in the middle of a burglary/murder investigation, and must battle not only his failing memory, but his own self-doubts and the doubts of both those closest to him. Ultimately this becomes more than simply a crime investigation to a struggle for Lehman's dignity and self. The author expertly ratchets up the tension throughout the book creating an extremely satisfying read that's tough to put down once started. Highly recommended.