Deuce of Pentacles


Illustrations from the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck ®, known also as the Rider Tarot and the Waite Tarot, reproduced by permission of U. S. Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited. The Rider-Waite Tarote Deck ® is a registered trademark of U. S. Games, Inc.

Murder mysteries and the paranormal have been joint themes in writing since the British mystery writers at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Taconite Runes brings the paranormal murder mystery to the Twenty-first Century with the tale The Deuce of Pentacles.

Tarot cards have been used for hundreds of years to predict the future. Most readers of the future use a series of cards or a spread to discern future events. But there is the occasional fortuneteller who uses the cards in a different way, a way that only hints...

James Makinen is a beaten man. His wife has left him taking their children across country to a different state. His boss wants to fire him. And a young girl has accused him of statutory rape. But those are just the least of his worries. An unknown soothsayer has just turned over a card... A serial killer has decided that James Makinen will be on his list of enjoyments.

Another card is drawn. What will happen next in the small Northern Minnesota town? The cards know. But can you understand their story?

Reviewer: Midwest Book Review Small Press Bookwatch Feature

The Deuce Of Pentacles by S.A. Gorden is a compelling murder mystery with deftly presented paranormal overtones of James Makinen, a troubled man whose problems are about to get worse. Makinen's wife has left him, taking their children to another state: a young woman has accused him of statutory rape; yet when an unknown fortune teller predicts that a serial killer has targeted him for the next killing, it sets in motion a chain of unexpected causes and effects, and only the hidden wisdom in the tarot cards can reveal the end of the journey. The Deuce Of Pentacles is a harrowing yet thrilling saga which is recommended to mystery buffs and readers with an interest in the paranormal. Also highly recommended are Gorden's two previous novels: Faces Of Doom (0-9719471-1-2, $15.00) and the "double novel", Days Between Seasons/Crystal Clear Pond (0-9719471-2-0, $17.50).

A Review by Donna Manganaris

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"–-Sir Walter Scott.

In S.A. Gorden's novel, The Deuce of Pentacles, we witness firsthand how Scott's little truism affects not only those doing the lying, but those snared in the spider's sticky web of silky half-truths and blatant falsehoods. The Deuce of Pentacles starts out innocently enough by introducing us to James Makinen, a poor soul whose life has taken all the wrong turns and who is merely suffering through each day of his existence. Accused of molesting one of his teenaged students, Makinen's life spirals from the gutter to the sewer as shock and disgust run rampant through his small hometown. If dealing with his shattered personal and professional life isn't bad enough, another web-crawler, whose fangs drip deadly poison, slinks out of the murky depths and stalks the shadowy recesses of the population's Norman-esque lifestyle. Ruining a person's reputation is one thing, murder is another.

A good author weaves their story as technically intricate as that spider's web, keeping a main thread running throughout, tying the pieces together as he reveals his characters and their motivations through action and dialogue. I was impressed by S.A. Gorden's use of tarot cards in the beginning of each chapter. To the careful reader, they give insight to the upcoming chapter and into the psyche of his cast of memorable characters. Although I found his use of present tense in these flashes a bit disconcerting, the snippets aren't more than a few lines, and I easily converted back to past tense for the body of the tale.

The Deuce of Pentacles entrapped me in its delightful, twist-filled web. On your Who-Done-It journey through the dusty, secret-filled rafters of small town America, you'll continually ask, "Who will the spider snare next in his crisscrossing webs of deceit and death?"



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