Try Dying by James Scott Bell

Try Dying is a crime fiction laced with cynical characters and bleak settings. From the first page author, James Scott Bell, pounces the reader with a vortex of violence, like predator to its unsuspecting prey. Helpless to Bell’s power over the pen, I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. Bell is a master of suspense, indeed.

A character by the name of Rudy Barocas made a remark, “What the mind of a man can conceive and believe, the mind of a man can achieve.”

That statement holds much wisdom. If one can merely think something, good or bad, and then believe it, it has the ability to exist outside of the mind and be successfully carried out. This truth is resounding, and can also be threatening, an interesting theory.

In a particular passage, which had me gripping my blanket, the author reveals the meaning of the title “Try Dying.”
Ty Buchanan, the heroine of the story is in a situation where his outcome is dim. He begins to give up-
“I would soon be dead.
My mind told my body not to stress about that. Just give up, it’s time, what are you doing hanging around here? You can’t win against people like this. There’s too many of them, and they’re too powerful. Living here isn’t what you thought it’d be. Try dying. Maybe you’ll find that white light.”

At this point in the story the reader has developed a relationship with Ty and is cheering for him. The readers’ heart will cry out, “He can’t die now, he has come too close to finding out the truth.”

This is not your classical who-dun-it mystery. This novel displays the remnants of a well seasoned craft, which is not ordinarily seen amongst inspirational writers. James Scott Bell has been added to my list of favorite authors. He has proven himself a worthy component of the general and inspirational market.

Reviewed by: Takiela Bynum