MacAdam/Cage

A Silence of Mockingbirds: The Memoir of a Murder
by Karen Spears Zacharias

In the era of Nancy Grace, calling for vengeance for the murder of children has become a kind of pornography. But the literary merits of A Silence of Mockingbirds, a memoir by former crime reporter Karen Spears Zacharias, outweigh any prurient interest, and the art with which she carefully reconstructs events leading up to a senseless, painful tragedy is reminiscent of In Cold Blood in its power.

In 2005, three-year-old Karly Sheehan was beaten to death in Corvallis, Ore., by her mother's boyfriend, who was subsequently jailed after a high-profile trial. Both Karly's father and her daycare provider had noticed suspicious physical signs and behavior leading up to the little girl's death, but a sloppy inquiry by the state left Karly in harm's way. Zacharias, a foster mother of sorts to Karly's mother, is admittedly biased here, but her reaction to the overwhelming atrocity is the awakening of a pure reportorial instinct to ferret out every detail in order to bring out the truth. In doing so, Zacharias employs a sure sense of pace and description that enables this heartbreaking, never-salacious memoir to read like a thriller.

Zacharias intends A Silence of Mockingbirds as a call to action, a "never again" plea. Indeed, Karly's case has inspired legislation designed to strengthen abuse investigations. But Zacharias has, perhaps unwittingly, created something else. For if the point of art is to touch, to affect, to say something profound about the human condition, than A Silence of Mockingbirds is more than a rallying cry; it is a work of art.--Cherie Ann Parker, freelance journalist and book critic

Discover: A reported memoir that reinforces the power of storytelling in the wake of human tragedy.