Living with Murder
Chryse Wymer
Reviewed by Diane Kasperski
It’'s 2035. John Marks finds himself in prison after murdering
Brandon Miller. He has no idea why he did it. He remembers picking up
“Brenda,” aka Brandon, hitchhiking but then nothing.
As part of a murderer’'s prison sentence in 2035, a prisoner can be
place in the home of the victim'’s family. So, under this law,
Marks is sentenced to the home of Brandon Miller's family. The family
is allowed to use the prisoner essentially as a slave and do anything
they want to him. He sleeps in what is essentially a box in a
guarded cell every night. During the day he is at the Miller’s'
beck and call.
The Miller’s have not moved on with their lives after the death of
their son. They are very close to Brandon’'s homosexual lover, Patrick,
who insists he knows the reason that John Marks killed Brandon.
Ms. Wymer’'s novella looks into a family trying to deal with the death
of their son. Can they move on? How can they move on? Can they forgive
their son'’s murderer? It also tells a young man'’s journey to discover
why he committed murder - and then his solution.
Living with Murder is a well written science fiction story that
includes a very thoughtful look at a family’s tragedy and their lives
afterwards. At only 50 pages this novella is finely crafted to give the
most power to each word.