Ryan Thomas and his dormmate Jarrod Mayfield awaken on a cold morning in March to a gruesome discovery. One of Western Maryland College’s most respected professors, Austin Webb, has been brutally murdered and left for dead behind the football stadium bleachers. There is no apparent motive and no clear suspects. The killer left behind two clues. The symbol of a crow with its wings spread branded on the deceased professor’s forehead and a note printed on a blank business card that reads, “Ring me a Porter.”
As writers for the college’s newspaper, Ryan and Jarrod team up with fellow writer Tiffany Cutter and the newspaper’s editor, Alan Kittridge, to begin a journalistic investigation. Little do they know they’re about to be dragged into one of the most horrifying events the small town of Westminster, Maryland, has ever seen.
What Ryan and his friends discover will change their lives forever and turn this sleepy town upside down. Hiding in the shadows is a serial killer who wants revenge for something that happened decades earlier.
Will this team of college journalists stop the killer before he completes his cycle? Will law enforcement? Or will the killer complete his masterpiece?
Kevin Provance was born in Carroll County, Maryland. He has worked as a restaurant manager, computer builder/technician/consultant, a shareware developer, and currently a WordPress developer for a private company. He writes themes and plugins for WordPress and audits PHP code for security flaws.
Currently, he is working on two series.
Kevin’s stories are designed to catch your interest and keep you turning the page for more. His approach to writing is to hit hard and fast with as few spelling errors as possible, and is recommended for those who enjoy fast-paced writing with lots of twists and turns.
When Kevin’s not writing, he spends his free time behind the camera, indulging in amateur still photography and shooting and producing short films under the Furious Conundrum Productions and SVL Studios monikers. He currently lives in Summerville, South Carolina.
For up-to-date promotions and release dates of upcoming books, sign up for the latest news here: www.kevinprovance.com
Scarecrow is a beautifully crafted tale of mystery that grabbed and held my attention from the first page. A group of college journalists investigating the death of one of their college professors quickly turns into a dangerous investigation that puts their lives at risk. Plenty of clues and misdirection will keep you guessing until the end.
Provance has written a classic 'whodunit' exploring and exposing human nature at its worst but also at its best. The killer is a tortured soul who wants revenge for the sins of the college's past. Who it is and why they're walking the dark path they've chosen leads to the twist ending that made the read highly satisfying. The plot is so well written that what starts as a murder mystery ends as a psychological thriller. You won't realize it's happened until you've finished the book.
The group cast of Scarecrow are well explored, many you'll come to love, and others you'll love to hate. They work well together to solve the Scarecrow mystery before the police. The eventual reveal of the Scarecrow killer isn't the end of the story. It's the beginning of the violent end that you'll have to read to believe.
Mr. Provance, thank you for a thought-provoking story that actually made me think.
This book was great...just what I needed for a summer read. My attention was held from start to finish. Just when I thought I had it figured out something else came into play and threw my theory our the window. I would live to see this made into a movie.
Oh! My! Stars! This was one more twisted story. There were things I loved about it and things that made me want to pull my hair out. But since I finished every single one of the 527 pages I guess that means the good outweighed the bad. Plus, I rated it four stars.
So pros first: an excellent serial killer/thriller that gave the reader almost no hints whatsoever as to who the killer was. I mean I didn't have a clue and I can usually come up with some idea. Not here. Which is a good thing. The characters that the reader was supposed to bond with were realistic, natural, and relatable. The ones the reader wasn't supposed to like were very unlikable. Mr. Provance has a great talent for creating three-dimensional, twisted, sick characters. The story was a creative combination of a police procedural and a college journalistic investigation that bent the rules more than would have happened in real life, but that's the point of thrillers. They do bend the rules.
And the cons: It was 5-2-7 pages!! I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to jump to the end to see whodunit and say forget it. In the long run, I was glad I didn't because I did enjoy the story. However, I think it could use the services of a good red ink pen that would create a much tighter, tenser story. As it was some scenes felt like they were there for filler and never moved the story forward at all. And then the last portion was the murders from the killer's point of view. In my opinion, that didn't add anything to the story. It was simply a rehash.
As a retired nurse, I tend to pay attention to medical details and Mr. Provance dropped the ball here. There was a patient in the hospital in critical condition and he (the author) had the murderer cut the IV line so that the machine would pump air into his body and kill him. That's not possible. Once the line is cut the fluid would run out on the floor and the machine would alarm when the bag and tubing were empty. There's no way it would continue to pump air. I know many would consider it picky, but if you as an author are going to include medical details, it doesn't take much research to be sure you get them right.
And the one thing that I found strange was the appearance of British slang every once in a while. (The one that sticks in my mind is Jesus wept. There were a couple of others, but I didn't note them.) I've never heard that used outside of the UK. I thought maybe Mr. Provance was from the UK and it slipped through, but he's not. Nor are any of his characters. It was just a bit weird.
So, even with all of this, would I recommend this book? Yes, and I will be checking out more of this author's work. I'll just be sure and check the page count next time.
I received a review copy from the author via BookSirens and this is my honest opinion.
This book, although long, grabbed you from the beginning and held you with lots of twists and turns and roller coaster rides. When Two college roommates, Jarrod and Ryan in the small town of Westminster, Maryland discover the body of a dead professor behind the bleachers of the school, decided to investigate for their school paper, The Phoenix. With The paper editor and another journalist, Tiffany Cutter, they work to uncover some deep dark truths and unmask a serial killer who didn't just kill the professor, but went on a rampage of killing in the small town. Will they be able to figure it out or will they become a victim of this murderer? With some edge of your seat moments, some gasps, you are led through some page turning times. Be prepared to keep reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the character development of the protagonists. If you want an edge of your seat thriller, don't miss this one. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
This was a very enjoyable read. It is quite long but totally engrossing. Someone is killing people with links to an event back decades ago, branding them with a crow symbol and leaving a card with a cryptic clue. Ryan and his friends decide to investigate in a journalism guise for the college newspaper.
I was kept riveted throughout and even when it was becoming clearer as to the motivation behind the murders, I never saw that ending coming. There was also several unexpected events throughout the book that left me gobsmacked. It's a totally entertaining read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Scarecrow by Kevin Provance is a thought provoking, intriguing and suspenseful story. Although this story itself is fictional, Kevin addresses the existence of racism in 1970 without exaggerated embellishment while sharing his story.
The murder of a well liked university faculty member sets off a series of unexplained murders and strange events.
An investigative reporter from the student body’s paper The Phoenix, Ryan looks for answers that uncover a hidden twenty five year old secret.
The Scarecrow is well written with well developed characters and is a great read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a brilliant read. Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start. Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable. Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously. Can't wait to read what the author brings out next. Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
This is one well written book with lots of twists and turns and grabs your interest right from the start. Have fun figuring out who the culprit is in this serial killer murder mystery and psychological thriller that will keep your mind busy. I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy.