RIPPLE

Seeking closure, a journalist revives a cold murder case from his hometown.

For former Albuquerque Journal reporter Cosgrove, the interest in the 1982 disappearance of Frank McGonigle from his childhood town is both academic and personal. The author’s parents were friendly with the McGonigle family when they lived in the same neighborhood in Kansas City; seeking to possibly solve the mystery himself, Cosgrove made the investigation the subject of his master’s thesis, which he completed in 1995. The early part of the book, which the author finished after receiving a blessing from Frank’s mother, briefly retraces the McGonigle family history: Frank, the sixth of nine children, was independent and “did things differently,” and his brothers were his closest friends throughout grade school. As an adult, however, his familial ties became strained with jealousy and bickering. After one particular blowout in 1982, Frank left in a rage and was never seen again. A week later, an unidentified body was discovered 1,200 miles away in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Cosgrove sifts through all the speculation and accusations, which both darkened and muddied the investigation. Culling through interviews with police and recalcitrant family members and dismissing Frank’s problems with mental health and frequent use of marijuana and LSD, the author re-creates the most plausible scenario that could explain his death. As the sheriff’s investigation fizzled out over the years, the family’s hope wavered despite several intuitive members seeing Frank in dreams. Nearly a decade later, the recovered body was finally identified as Frank McGonigle. Cosgrove’s text becomes unconventional and self-admittedly “weird” with the addition of supernatural elements, including his own communications with Frank’s spirit and his enlistment of an “energy reader” to provide psychic direction or enlightenment. These elements spin the narrative in a decidedly mystical direction, and whether or not readers believe in the efficacy of paranormal intervention in police investigations will determine if the book will fascinate or mystifyingly disappoint.

An intriguing yet oddly rendered excavation of an unsolved crime.