Growing up in South Kitsap, I’ve seen some scary stuff. The Colchester curve still creeps me out to this day, because so many accidents happen there. Some parts of Olalla creep me out something fierce. The drive to Manchester State Park creeps me out because of a story told me during my childhood as well. I don’t know and have never confirmed if that story was true or not. Still creepy. I had a high school teacher who was neighbors with a very young Ted Bundy. Yes, that creeped me out too, the stories he would tell about that experience. My point is, not everything in Port Orchard is happiness and love and Cedar Cove. No, there’s more than that and I’m going to speak to that. His name is Gregg Olsen, he too is an author and he calls Port Orchard home as well.

(I put that picture up, snapped in Port Orchard along Jackson headed towards Lund again to illustrate that yes, can we just put down the graffiti and pick up the paintbrush and make Port Orchard beautiful? It says “Kitsap County Killers”. Honestly, it reminds me of back in high school when we were told that Kitsap had the highest number of murders per capita in the state. Again, don’t know if it’s true, have not researched this.)

I had first heard of Gregg Olsen long ago when he published “Starvation Heights”. For a long time I refused to read the book, because I had spoken with local people who knew of people who had been there during that time and clearly stated that Gregg had things all wrong. The woman in question, Dr Linda Burfield Hazzard, was nothing less than a miracle worker. Wait! I heard this story growing up. I don’t recall it quite going that way. I need to read this book.

I checked out a copy and started reading. If I’m having to read things, I prefer non-fiction to fiction and if it’s historical then it’s an added bonus. Sometimes, I’ll be honest, I dislike reading. I say that because for years I was copy editing others’ work. In doing that, I learned to read not for content but rather for grammatical errors or spelling errors and would not always catch what exactly was being said. Fiction is even harder for me to read at times, because some authors fall short of capturing my attention and I’d rather read non-fiction.

Now that we’ve heard that, I’ll go back to my review of Starvation Heights quickly. It was one of those rare books that you find that you just can’t put down. I liked Gregg’s writing style because it was as if you were “right there” in his painting of scenes and events. (Later on, I would read “The Deep Dark” and for a couple days, any sort of smoke made me choke and think about miners dying from smoke inhalation.) For Starvation Heights, he had indeed covered all angles and had talked to the same people I knew who disputed claims that Dr Hazzard was literally starving people to death. For me, the book took a personal hit as well because as a weight loss surgery patient, I could feel how the two sisters (Claire and Dora Williamson) felt about trying to be healthier and weigh lighter. Knowing that right now, I am a weight loss surgery disaster, certainly you can understand how this book hit home in a multitude of ways.

My next read was “A Wicked Snow”. My mom was the one who convinced me to try reading one of his fiction novels. I picked it up, put it down, picked it up…and finished reading it after I got done reading “The Deep Dark” . I know, reading two books at once, what craziness is that? I like that Kindle app, I do. “A Wicked Snow”was good and had me hanging in suspense all the way to the end. So did “The Deep Dark” but I couldn’t contain myself. I had to “Wikipedia up the ending” before reading Gregg’s ending. Interesting reading either way and it was great, albeit painful I’m sure, to write about such a tragedy.

Imagine my great surprise when I found out that Gregg is writing another book called “Victim Six” and it’s set right here in Port Orchard. Not in Cedar Cove, home of seagull wishes and dreams of enduring love, but Port Orchard. Before all the Debbie Macomber fans come to choke and kill me, I’d like to point out, just as Gregg did in this article here that a serial killer doesn’t fit into the Cedar Cove series. If you’re talking romance novels, I’m still shocked that there’s a NASCAR romance series. I guess you can make anything come together in a romance novel, but I don’t think that serial killers could get in there.

I’m excited to read and see how Gregg ties Port Orchard into a murder scene and keeps readers enthralled for the whole ride. I’m sure he can and did it well, because he not only lives here, but does the research and can paint an incredible scene into the imagination using words. I’d even venture a guess as to say that’s why he’s a New York Times bestselling author. Matter of fact, he’s having a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Silverdale on Saturday, January 30, between 3 to 4:30 pm. Can’t make it there? He’ll be at Bethel Avenue Books in Port Orchard on Tuesday, February 2 between 6 to 8 pm.

Is Port Orchard just a haven for love and finding happiness and romance? Now some of you may jump up and say “But hey there Johanna, your current boyfriend is the same boyfriend you waltzed up and down the halls at SK with during your sophomore year!” Yea, okay, got me there. But I’ll add this to the pile. Ever googled up where L Ron Hubbard lived for some time? Or how and why he was investigated by the FBI and other fun people like that? Did I just give Gregg Olsen another book idea? That I don’t know, but I’ll be sure to ask him while he’s signing my copy of “Victim Six” , that’s for sure.

(I forgot to add this. I bet, if you took the Port Orchard Murder Mystery Weekend” and renamed it the “Gregg Olsen Murder Mystery Weekend” and let him run the show, we’d have DROVES of tourists wanting to be here and participate. Of course, I’ve said this for a couple years now, but just sayin’)

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Tags: Cedar Cove, Charlie Bermant, crime novels, Gregg Olsen, Port Orchard, Port Orchard Independent, South Kitsap authors, Victim Six

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 19:48:49 and is filed under daily dribble. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.