Berkeley Springs Author Publishes Novel

March 6, 2014

By Juliet Lauderdale – Special to The Journal

As ongoing war in the Middle East and government technology conspiracies continue to consume daily news headlines, local author Barry Fulton’s first novel, “Flame: Hackers, Artists, Lovers, and Spies,” begs us to question once more, “Does art mimic life or does life mimic art?”

“Flame” begins when Felicity Phillips arrives early at the Ice House Gallery after being awakened by a threatening phone call. There, she finds a macabre sculpture whose scarred face and parched white skin heighten her feeling of dread. Visitors are captivated by the realistic appearance of the figure, dubbed “Boris,” until the coroner declares it a corpse and a criminal investigation reveals the body cavity contains 24 kilos of heroin and a mysterious electronic device.

Fulton’s “Flame” entices readers to go deeper into his exciting combined local and international plot. The prose is at once “clippie” and concise, attitudinal even, and his writing intrigues readers to turn the book’s every page.

Though a prudent disclaimer carefully placed at the beginning of his book limits Fulton’s liability in terms of possible revelations in his novel of any “actual persons, living or dead, or actual events,” it is sure readers will remain eagerly poised to turn the first to very last pages of Fulton’s “Flame.”

Click Martinsburg Journal to read the full review.