Witness to Myself

The classic PBOs in the 1950s tackled edgy crimes, tough situations, and tragic figures. Mr. Shubin's PBO, WITNESS TO MYSELF, is no different. That undoubtedly stems from the fact he's been at it since 1953 debut, ANYONE'S MY NAME. Philadelphia lawyer Alan Benning, 30, is an anguished individual who as a fifteen-year-old molested Susheela Kapasi, a thirteen-year-old girl. This deed racks Alan with guilt for fifteen years. He manages to fall in love with his LPN, Anna Presiac, and discovers Susheela was found murdered by her father on the same day. The story tracks Alan's investigation to determine if he's Susheela's actual killer. Alan's cousin Colin, a true crime writer, is the sympathetic, puzzled narrator though he ponders if publishing Alan's crime story might make for a lucrative book deal (so true for any commercial writer). On the other hand, Alan probably won't endear many hearts. This psychological study of a criminal mind is a well-paced and intelligent read.

Adolescence is a hard perplexing time ripe with strange thoughts, strange feelings, and impetuous actions with little consideration of the consequences. It certainly was fifteen years ago for teenager Alan Benning. His family, on vacation in Cape Cod by way of a large motor home, had no idea what he thought or felt. The family was well off, his parents were conservative and Alan, with no one to talk to about life and his feelings, began to hate and fear himself. That hatred and fear of himself grew and grew after the incident in the woods near the beach during that vacation. In the present day, Alan, now thirty is a successful lawyer with a steady girlfriend, Anna, a loving cousin, and an obsession about what might or might not have happened that fateful day fifteen years ago. Driven to know, he begins to unravel his own perfect life. A life that appears to be perfect but hides so many dark secrets that he is not sure of what actually happened back then. Author Seymour Shubin has weaved a complete tale about the human spirit. Shifting in point of view between Alan and his cousin the author paints a picture of obsession. Not only is Alan obsessed with what he might or might not have done but the cousin has his own obsession. The cousin's need isn't as obvious early in the novel but the end of the book it is clear that his own obsession is just as strong. It is also clear that the author is commenting on the nature of mankind. Those little things that surely lead to disaster. Those little things, unnoticed or unremarked at the time and yet become telling through the use of hindsight. The signs were obvious, as they often are, and unnoticed until long after the fact. The author makes this point throughout the work as he weaves complex multifaceted characters throughout the tale. The result is a fast paced intense read. While only 250 pages in paperback, this isn't a beach book and far from it. This is a book that rapidly becomes a real page turner as it pulls the reader into a world not unlike his or her own. This is a book that one doesn't want interrupted and is sorry to see end. Intense and driven, the book doesn't let go until that final phrase "the end" and even then lingers in the mind. Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006

Although Shubin tries to distance readers from the crime by taking them through the story via the protagonist's cousin Colin, the author is so intent on showing the perpetrator's internal process that we are, in fact, catapulted into the very heart and soul of evil itself. So we undergo this chilling journey of obsessional worry, fear, and conscience to its ultimate conclusion with minimal buffer and explore the darkness of a single impulsive act all the more lucidly for that lack of detachment. Shubin is an artful writer, and this novel will stand among his very best-may it be on the shelves a long, long time. G. Miki Hayden, author of Writing the Mystery

Mr. Shubin has been writing classic noir novels, including Anyone's My Name and The Captain for close to 50 years now, and Witness to Myself is yet another brilliant novel of Shubin's. The writing is masterfully done, very subtle where instead of explosions you get a slow burn that works its way under your skin as it follows the downward spiral of its doomed protagonist who may or may not have committed a heinous crime when he was 15. This is pure noir, poignant, riveting, and I can not recommend it highly enough.

"You don't have to know if you killed her, he told himself. You've lived all these years, fifteen years, without knowing. And you've got a good life that you're going to destroy, you're only thirty, a lawyer, you have someone you love, and a new career, one where you can do so much good. You've never had it better. For God's sake turn around!" -- from Witness to Myself For the last fifteen years, an impulsive act has kept Alan Benning in fear of being discovered. Only he is not quite sure exactly of what he is guilty. Did he kill the young girl in the woods off the shore of the fictional Cape Cod town of South Minton, or didn't he? Not knowing is driving him crazy. Little does he know that trying to find out the truth will make him even more miserable. I believe that this is the first time that Hard Case Crime has published a new work by an author from whom they could have just as easily published a reprint. Seymour Shubin (a rather milquetoasty name for a crime-fiction writer) has been in the psychological-suspense business since his debut novel, Anyone's My Name, first appeared on the bestseller lists in 1953. He was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his novel, The Captain, in 1982, and his 1985 novel, Voices, focused on the phone-sex industry. (There is an interview with the author, from that year, online.) Shubin's work has also been selected for inclusion in critical surveys of the mystery genre (although he objects to the classification of his work in that way). Shubin makes an interesting choice in Witness to Myself by telling Alan's story through his cousin, Colin. Finding out Colin's role in the story is just one of the many questions readers will be wanting answered. The primary effect this has, though, is a lack of certainty in Alan's lifespan, adding to the suspense. Shubin skillfully carries his readers along, involving us deeply in Alan's story, and making this possible murderer an extremely sympathetic character. The conviction in Colin's voice is so strong that, many times, I had to remind myself that I was reading a crime novel, and not a non-fiction tome (Shubin has written in the true-crime field and it shows). Witness to Myself has the old-time feel of noir fiction but is set firmly in the present. Like any modern thirty-somethings, Shubin's characters feel completely comfortable using the Internet for research -- in fact, they prefer it. Alan keeps the Cape Cod Breeze's Web site link on his desktop for easy access, and Colin instantly goes to Google when trying to find the meaning of a half-remembered phrase. This is the first book I've read that has folded modern technology so seamlessly within its storyline -- even more surprising coming from an "old-timer" like Shubin.