Those That Did Not Die

by Penny Fletcher

WILL SHE HAVE TO KILL HIM TO BE FREE?
THOSE THAT DID NOT DIE follows the heart-wrenching story of Candace, a woman tormented by her husband Drake, after his return from the Gulf War. Mentally twisted by his war experiences, Drake takes his rage out on Candace, beating and raping her, and beating his own son, while their daughter cowers behind a closet door. After many failed attempts to get away, Candace flees from Tennessee to a remote Florida key where she manages a small motel, getting them shelter and meals along with a safe place to sleep. There, she befriends some people from a nearby homeless camp. She allows them to clean up in vacant rooms and gives them expired and leftover food from the motel kitchen. These acts gain the trust of the group's unofficial leader, who goes by the name Bubba. Also a returning soldier, Bubba appears to be a gentle man who spends his days nursing bourbon and beer until he is overcome by a need to clean himself up in hopes of gaining Candace's affection. This suspenseful thriller explores themes of PTSD, domestic violence, and the varying depths of human connections. Filled with gripping scenarios that propel the characters through emotional rollercoaster rides, readers can see the unconditional love and lengths to which a mother will go to protect her children, and a man will go to gain the affection of a woman he desires. A survivor to the end, Candace's one question WILL SHE HAVE TO KILL HIM TO BE FREE? Fans of immersive drama and suspense will undoubtedly enjoy this story from beginning to end.

Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2024

About the author

An author, print journalist, and editor for almost 40 years, Penny Fletcher uses her true-life experiences to write both fiction and nonfiction centered around today's world problems and news. She enjoys writing suspense-thrillers the most. Her latest, THOSE THAT DID NOT DIE, (Pub. Dec. 2024) is the result of more than 30 years of working with victims of domestic abuse; as a journalist, and as a peer counselor who relates through a horrific experience of her own.

She's written more than 12,000 news stories, features, and editorials and earned more than 20 press awards from The Florida Press Association and Community Papers of Florida. As a reporter and Bureau Editor during several takeovers, she has experienced many of the changes she writes about in Dirty News, The Sumerian Secret, and Soft News. After leaving the newsroom, she made an in-depth study of the Supreme Court, Congressional, and FCC rulings that have led to the disinformation, commentary and biased reports passed off as news over the last 25-or-so years.

Three of her publishers have gone out of business leaving several books out of print. They include, If I Should Die Before I Wake, American Gestapo, and Where the Wild Rose Grows. When she has time, she intends to reprint these herself, as she believes self publishing is now the best way to go.

While working full-time as a journalist for Sunbelt Newspapers and simultaneously as a columnist for The Tampa Tribune, she also occasionally wrote for three national magazines: Gulf Coast Fisherman, Today’s Christian Woman, and True Story. Meanwhile, online, she freelanced as an editor for Amazon’s first publishing venture, BookSurge, where she learned to edit in British English. She still operates an editorial service on her website where she has edited more than 300 books . Until 2023, she also gave once-a-week classes in creative fiction writing at The Center 4 Lifelong Learning in the retirement community of Sun City Center, Florida. When available, she still edits authors' work online.

Currently press-credentialed by the Florida Freelance Writers/Writers & Editors Network, she can be found on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn as well as her website.

Reviews

[Dennis Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

THOSE THAT DID NOT DIE by PENNY FLETCHER is, in my opinion, a slow burn with deep insight. This is not a beach read, nor is it a comedy. There are good people everywhere, often where you'd least expect them. Rene, along with her two children, and Bubba, aka Jimmy, are transients living in the woods near the Woodland Motel. Candace, a mother of two (Paige and Tyler) is the manager for the motel. She is a very busy gal with a lot of responsibilities. But she still finds time to care for those living at the "hobo" camp.

Sadly, where there is good, there is also evil. THOSE THAT WOULD NOT DIE delves deeply into the psyche of Drake, Candace's ex husband, a war-torn psycho who came back from the Gulf War consumed with misplaced hatred for almost everything, mainly Candace and even his son, Tyler. Thankfully, he never harms Paige but the violence she witnesses toward her mother, along with the trauma of a serious auto accident does some serious damage to her fragile body and mind.

PENNY FLETCHER is an amazing writer touching on deep subjects, domestic abuse, PTSD, rape, homelessness, alcoholism, the tragedies of war and more. The book also has a solid positive side: the values of hard work, dependability, love and friendship, caring for others and so much more.

Throughout the book, the reader will find short segments, black pages with white writing, the thoughts and feelings of a soldier during wartime, a very interesting concept. Honestly, they were hard for me to read but I don't think you will have a problem with it. Keep writing Penny. I take my hat off to you.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is brilliant. The author really knows how to weave a fantastic story. And weave she does. There are 2 disparate storylines in this novel. I really like the clever way she created the “dark” pages to represent the soldiers story. The narrative is smart and the exposition is well-crafted. I was invested in every character she created. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was shocking at times. The sex scenes were surprising to me, but beautifully written. I finished this book with complete satisfaction with the ending. This book exceeded my expectations in so many ways.