John Garic

Cypress Knees - A Louisiana Novel John Garic

Newly appointed Judge Ricarde Starrette stumbles across a body in the Louisiana swamps. The deceased turns out to be Frank Patrizio, the wealthiest and most disliked man in the City of Cypress, Louisiana and a long time "friend" of Judge Starrette. Both the media and the incessant gossiping and bickering citizens of the city become the purveyors of the nastiest of sensationalism which sweeps across the city ensnaring many into its malevolent web. In life, most people hated Frank Patrizio but also needed him for their own selfish interests. In death, most still hated Frank Patrizio, but were now also potential suspects in his presumed murder. Being a "person of interest" as a potential murder suspect quickly morphs into having a certain cachet for some of the "upstanding" citizens of the city. On its face, this fictional novel is the humorous, coming-of-age narrative of Ricarde Starrette and Frank Patrizio - but also of the City of Cypress itself. Judge Starrette is prone to motion sickness and worries obsessively about how much he sweats. Frank Patrizio has more money, power and sex than anyone else in the city, but ultimately lacks so much of what he really wants. Along the way, we come to know the history, culture, upbringing and the internal demons and foibles of many of the characters of the city. For example, we learn about Mayor Lamberto who dies in the arms of his mistress. Fortunately, his political cronies move his body so that his death can be "spun" into his valiant death while working for the people. This novel has a satirical edge to it - all intentionally so. It explores the dark side that is in all of us - that part of us that is often so very close to our surface no matter how much we believe it to be buried. Ultimately, this novel is about the normalcy of peculiarities - the averageness of idiosyncrasies. Yes, it is about the strange and bizarre people and places in the City of Cypress, Louisiana, but ultimately it tells the story of the strangeness and bizarreness inherent in all of us.