It’s not a secret that I’m a runner and love to run so when Pump up your Book Promotions asked me if I was interested in this title I jumped at the chance to read it.
A little about Lynda Drews: Even though this is Lynda’s first book, she has inside knowledge about the victim and the accused. One of the book’s themes is the impact her best friend’s mysterious death has on Green Bay’s close-knit running community. Lynda and her husband, Jim, a retired teacher and guidance counselor, helped launch the local running movement. Green Bay now hosts the nation’s fifth largest 10K, attracting more than 15,000 participants.
I really enjoy reading memoirs and true stories – I have read so many stories about runners and running, they motivate me. This book is a little different – it’s less about running and more about friendship and community. A suspicious death rocks the group, and several members are asked to testify against a member of the running group. The author presents us with four unique scenarios of her friend's death - she refuses to reveal which one she herself accepts which keeps you wondering and longing for more.
A solid review from BN.COM: Lynda Drews was a close friend to Pam Bulik and they shared a love running-along with their husbands and friends. In 1984 when Pam failed to show up for a race, many begin to worry about her absence. It was later found that she was killed the very morning of the race she missed.
A solid review from BN.COM: Lynda Drews was a close friend to Pam Bulik and they shared a love running-along with their husbands and friends. In 1984 when Pam failed to show up for a race, many begin to worry about her absence. It was later found that she was killed the very morning of the race she missed.
Run At Destruction goes through the days, weeks, and months after Bulik's death as seen through the eyes of a close friend. Drews gives a close look into the past of the Bulik marriage that was marred by infidelity, lies, and deceit. This is a no holds barred look into a marriage that was falling apart, the murder of a friend, and the suspicion aimed at her husband, Bob Bulik.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was so different from other true crime books in that you are reading in through the eyes of someone who knew the victim. Knew of their struggles and their highs. Lynda Drews paints a clear picture of the turmoil not only in her own family but in the runner's group both her and Pam Bulik belonged to as well as the entire town.
She paints a picture of what going through a trial feels like for all involved. Drews shows how the court system we all trust may be a bit flawed. If you like true crime books, I highly recommend this book. You will find yourself becoming attached to the author and the people of this book. This is a great read!
This book is getting 5 stars on BN.COM
Author Q&A:
Tell us a little about yourself: I’m a Wisconsin native that’s been running for forty years and relishes the outdoors, whatever season. Now, with eight marathons under my belt, the sport remains one of my passions. My husband, Jim, and I helped start Green Bay’s local running movement where the city now hosts the fourth largest 10K. My former marketing career was global, allowing me to accumulate air miles. During each of my two son’s middle and high school years, I let them pick a one-on-one trip with just their mom. Yes, that was me, sitting in the first five rows of those 15 Dave Mathew’s Band concerts! As a freshman in college, I’d loved two basic studies courses – creative writing and introduction to computer science. In the seventies, the latter was an emerging field. Encouraged, I became the first graduate and was hired by IBM, putting my writing passion on the backburner until I retired in 2004. As a child, I’d been enamoured by any sort of mystery. I’d immediately turn to the High Life Magazine picture to discover the hidden objects on the page. I loved surprise balls - unrolling the ribbon of tissue paper to gradually reveal the trinkets inside. The Nancy Drew mystery series was my favorite and Clue was my game of choice. So it wasn’t surprising that after my best friend and running partner mysteriously drowned in her bathtub, I’d been bothered ever since. Recently I gave the commencement speech at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, my Alma Mater. One of the lessons I shared was to “journal your life.” When I retired, I followed my own advice. Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle is the outcome.
What do you think of the electronic book (kindles and such)? I personally don’t own a kindle, though many of my friends do. People that travel seem to like this format, so they don’t have to lug books around. My book came out in Trade Paperback and also on Kindle. My sales on Amazon have been decent in this format. The Kindle version is actually much more lucrative for both my publisher and me since there are no print costs involved.
What is one tip that you can share with aspiring writers? To find a publisher, you must be passionate and tenacious and, most importantly, willing to change. Take the constructive advice from the seemingly endless rejections to rework your book proposal and/or manuscript and resubmit again. In any profession, it is those people that are willing to adapt and even relish change that can defy the odds.
What are you reading now? One Thousand White Women – The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus. I Love reading books about strong women who break social constraints.
Lastly, share one or two of your all time favorite novels read, excluding classics: My favorite reads are Pillars of the Earth, Lonesome Dove, The Stand, Presumed Innocent, and The Pact.
Just for fun:- Favorite Season: Summer – still dressed in sweaty clothes from a run, I love to relax on our screened in porch, an ice tea within reach, while editing a manuscript and listening to the sounds of the river.
- Morning or night: Why do I have to pick? I love both… I’ve always been able to exist on a limited amount of sleep.
- Favorite ice cream flavor: Vanilla mixed with maraschino cherry juice poured from the jar. This is a childhood ritual established with my dad.
- If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go: I would love travel to the countries that spawned me – it’s quite a mix! My paternal side journeyed in the 1600s from Holland to help found New Amsterdam, and my maternal side migrated from Ireland where an ancestor was head of the Protestant Church.
Synopsis:Deeply immersed in the close-knit culture of long-distance running, Pam and Bob Bulik were avid competitors. To all appearances, they were also a happily married couple, devoted to each other and their two young children. Then, Bob made a fateful decision. He began an extramarital affair that led to his wife's tragic death and to one of the most sensationalized and heavily attended trials in Green Bay's history.
Synopsis:Deeply immersed in the close-knit culture of long-distance running, Pam and Bob Bulik were avid competitors. To all appearances, they were also a happily married couple, devoted to each other and their two young children. Then, Bob made a fateful decision. He began an extramarital affair that led to his wife's tragic death and to one of the most sensationalized and heavily attended trials in Green Bay's history.
Candidly written by Pam's best friend, Run At Destruction exposes the irresistible human passions that make us so vulnerable and the ultimate price we pay for choosing to act on them. You'll relive every detail of the crime and the exhaustive police investigation, and watch the courtroom drama from a front-row seat as a major homicde case unfolds in a small town where everyone knows all the players. Then, when you've heard all the evidence, you can decide for yourself - was Pam Bulik's death a terrible accident, intentional suicide, or premeditated murder?