Demarest Kill

by Frank Eberling

DEMAREST KILL is a murder mystery and coming of age/loss of innocence novel unlike any you have read before. The Demarest Kill is a stream that threads its way through New City, behind The Dutch Garden and the Rockland County Courthouse, and serves as a metaphor for the events that unfold over a fifty-year period. Richly described with period detail and local color, DEMAREST KILL is the story of a generation of baby-boomers who grew up in the post-World War II years in New City, New York, just thirty miles north of Manhattan. Will, a fifth generation home-town boy, befriends Tom, a child prodigy pianist from a wealthy family. In the fifth grade, Will meets and falls in love with Beth, the artistic daughter of a famous sculptor who lives in an artists’ enclave in this small town. The three friends form a strong bond, and from fifth grade through college they are inseparable, as they explore the perfect, pastoral world New City had to offer in the 1950s and 1960s. As they mature from elementary school students to adults, they explore the Demarest Kill from its source to its spilling into the Lake DeForest Reservoir. The winding stream becomes a centerpiece of the novel as it flows north. After high school, the three leave New City and seek their own futures, and as they do, they are caught up in the turmoil of the late 1960s, and become estranged; separated by the forces of history that rent our country asunder during that era. Decades pass, and in the autumn of 2000, Beth is found brutally murdered and dumped into the Demarest Kill at the back of the Dutch Garden. Will, now an investigator with the District Attorney’s Office, becomes a suspect in the murder of his former lover. DEMAREST KILL is a long journey into our past, filled with music and events that defined those years. If you grew up in New City, or know the town, there are hundreds of touchstones to those magnificent days of fifty years ago. For those not familiar with the town, the story provides universal themes of unrequited love, nostalgia for days gone by, an enormous betrayal of horrific scale, and a brutal murder mystery that is both devastating and allegorical. Filled with characters you will never forget, DEMAREST KILL is the tragic story of a generation of young people who grew up in the glory days of small town, post-World War II America. The author’s attention to detail, and sense memory of a time and place, make this novel unforgettable. The highly controversial, provocative ending will have readers debating for years to come. The author, Frank Eberling, is a fifth generation New City boy who grew up listening to New City history from older family and friends. After graduating from Clarkstown High School in New City in 1964, he moved to Florida to attend the University of Florida. Following five years as a high school teacher in Palm Beach County, he became a television news journalist and documentary filmmaker for over forty years. He produced over 3,000 television projects for local and national television, Florida PBS, and The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. His work earned him an Emmy and numerous other writing and producing awards. He has written over thirty screenplays and four novels, several of which are available on AMAZON. ENSUEÑO is a literary murder-mystery set in Palm Beach in the 1950s and 1980s, and SWEET CITY BLUES is a goof-ball comedy set in Belle Glade in the 1970s. Eberling has written and directed two feature films set in Palm Beach County. He is currently developing a slate of several low-budget indie-films set in Florida.

676 pages, Paperback

Published August 3, 2016

Reviews

[Stanley Foshay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was about a time of innocence growing up in Rockland County. Even though there was a friendly rivalry between schools, it was growing up in an area post war. We were able to explore, woods and streams before the bulldozers changed the area forever. It was a time of country roads and small farms before major highways created major changes and will live in our minds forever

[Howell Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book because it was set in my hometown and the era of my childhood: New City, NY, in the late 1950s and the 1960s. It delivered spectacularly very well on that level and taught me a lot of history. But it turned out that the story was really good in itself. The heart of the story follows three friends through grade school and high school in what was then a small town about to be transformed by development and population growth. It does a great job evoking the innocence and independence of youth in that era. The later part of the story is the murder mystery, which takes place as the 21st century is about to unfold, and while very different from the first part, it is good, too.

The book needed to be better copy-edited, but that doesn't get in the way of the powerful storytelling.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very rarely do I leave book reviews, but I felt compelled to do so after reading Frank Eberling's "Demarest Kill." Eberling's novel takes place in New City, NY during the 1950s. He follows the lives of Will, Beth, and Tom, who are best friends. The first part of the book talks about Will's childhood, while the second half focuses more on the murder mystery. It was fascinating to read about places in New City that I knew really well. If you are from Rockland County, I highly recommend you read this book.

Additionally, the diction used throughout the novel was beautifully chosen. As a result, I felt very attached to the friendship between Will, Beth, and Tom. I flew through "Demarest Kill," and I wish the book never had to end. Similarly, reading "Demarest Kill" made me realize how much the world changed since the 1950s. Sadly, kids today spend hours on technology instead of being outside with their friends. Reading this made me mourn for the much simple world that once existed. I miss when people would interact with others instead of being glued to screens all day.

Overall, I have nothing but praise for "Demarest Kill."

[Laila Schwinge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read if you are from New City.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-5 stars for anyone who grew up in or near New City in the ‘60s & ‘70s. Embedded in a murder mystery retrace your steps thru a time when kids were free to be.