LOW TOR: A New City Murder Mystery

by Frank Eberling

New City native, Abram “Abby” Traphagen was a local kid who made good. A high school football star who went on to sports fame with a full scholarship to Florida State University, he was later drafted by the NY Giants, where he spent ten years as a wide receiver. Hired as a television network football commentator, he capitalized on his fame and became a bestselling mystery novelist. Now, in 2008, his life has fallen apart. His wife has died of acute alcohol poisoning, his 20 year-old son has disappeared, and he’s been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Alone in his remote, 200 year-old ivy-covered sandstone cottage on South Mountain Road, he’s made a decision. He will take a last “walk into the woods” on his beloved promontory, Low Tor, and watch his final sunset. But on his second night there he witnesses a senseless, brutal murder of a young woman by two men. After he reports the shooting to the police, they find no forensic evidence that a murder took place. When the body is eventually found on his remote hillside retreat near Lake Tiorati, he becomes the primary suspect. Told through the eyes of his estranged son, LOW TOR is novel of small-town aspirations come true, of lifelong resentments, secrets, and dreams, and a murder mystery, partially based on true events, that defies the conventions of the genre.Like in his first New City novel, DEMAREST KILL, fifth-generation New City native Frank Eberling, combines local history and lore with an intriguing crime story. Told in flashbacks that go back over one hundred years, it weaves together four separate stories that explore the genesis of Abby Traphagen’s obsessions, and how he came to live the complicated life he did. Frank Eberling graduated from Clarkstown High School in 1964, moved to Florida to attend the University of Florida, became an educator, then an Emmy® Award-winning documentary filmmaker, producing over 3,000 television programs over the course of forty-four years. He lives in South Florida.

569 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2019

Reviews

[Howell Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping mystery that mixes in a lot of local history from Rockland County, New York, where the author grew up, and Florida, where he spent most of his adulthood. Like his last work, "Demarest Kill," it needs better copy-editing, but the storytelling is good in spite of that. The story jumps backs and among the 1950s, the 1980s and 2008, but it holds together. And while he goes on occasional digressions, like listing a bunch of documentary films the main character (and the author) made in Florida, they are interesting and entertaining digressions. He uses a fair amount of history of the movie industry in the book, and Thomas Edison makes an appearance, and I found that interesting and entertaining. And for someone like me who lives in the area where the book is set, the local touch is fascinating.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the story line of this book, but having it set where I grew up was an even bigger draw. The book starts in New City, NY and a body has been discovered on the property of the former star football player who attended and played for FSU and the NY Giantes. “Abby” later went on to become a sideline reporter in the NFL and an author. The book goes back and discusses New City history and a murder that took place during the main characters childhood. It is an excellent book.

[Jamie Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Took me back to my childhood

Grew up in New City in the 50s and 60s. Loved recalling all the
places mentioned. While you knew alot about film, I glossed over that part and as a murder mystery buff, enjoyed that part alot. On to next book.

[Sue Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My town, which fascinated me