Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Nursing Home-James J. Murphy III

The Nursing Home
James J. Murphy III
L&J Publishing, Sep 17 2010, $14.00
ISBN: 9780984273102

The son of eighty-four year old Morris Grover can no longer cope with living in the same house as his father. Confined to a wheelchair and dependent on his family, Morris constantly makes demands of them. Morris continually fights with the three people he shares the house with until they cannot stand being with him. Sam and his wife Lila forcibly place Morris in a Florida nursing home. He quickly hates the horrific smell and the terrible tasting food. The biggest shock is the abuse the staff heap on the residents. Morris soon meets some men who not just think similar to him, but respect and like him.

At first a series of patients die unexpectedly, but the staff is dying as well and they are getting nastier especially the abusers. The police investigate but find no evidence to arrest anyone although circumstantially wheelchair bound Morris is a person of interest even though the killer had to be able to stand. Four determined teenagers and two of cops investigate who are killing the residents and staff of Riggs Nursing Home.

On top of the guilt of having to place a loved one in a nursing home, this thriller is a double sword horror tale as readers will cringe with what humans do to the elderly while there is also a supernatural spin to the fine mystery. Thus The Nursing Home grips readers on two levels with the abuse being the more horrific as that is realistically portrayed. However, it is the paranormal element that ties the homicides and other incidents together into a enthralling reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

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