PARABELLUM
A Psychological Novel
“Parabellum takes us on vivid, harrowing journey.” – Jenny Milchman, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of Cover of Snow
Why does this keep happening?
Four mass shooting suspects. One killer. Discover who and why.
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More About This Psychological Novel
“A vivid, harrowing journey.” – Jenny Milchman, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of Cover of Snow
Why does this keep happening?
A shooting at a Chicago beach leaves several dead and dozens injured. In the year before the attack, four individuals emerge as possible suspects.
An apathetic computer programmer.
An ex-college athlete with a history of head injuries.
An Army veteran turned Chicago cop.
A despondent high school student.
One of them is the shooter. Discover who and why.
“Parabellum is taut, slow-burning crime fiction at its best. And it’s a great deal more than that.” – Paul Flower, author of The Great American Cheese War
If you like compelling and unforgettable stories that explores the depths of the human psyche, you’ll love this nuanced psychological novel.
Buy Parabellum today and begin a story you won’t be able to put down.
Praise for Parabellum
“We live in a time of nameless, faceless evil, and Greg Hickey’s Parabellum takes us on a vivid, harrowing journey into the systems and societal circumstances that create it. But it’s Hickey’s eye for detail and finely honed prose that cast the real spell of this novel—convincing the reader that despite all the bleakness, the possibility of salvation is always nigh.”
– Jenny Milchman, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of Cover of Snow and The Second Mother
“Parabellum is taut, slow-burning crime fiction at its best. And it’s a great deal more than that. Greg Hickey has crafted a masterfully paced character study within a genre, a study that takes a philosophical and revealing look at the roots of America’s seemingly endless struggle with violence. The result is a smart, compelling, brilliantly structured tale that entertains as it challenges. You won’t be able to put it down. You won’t want to forget it.”
– Paul Flower, author of The Great American Cheese War
Amazon Reviews of Parabellum
Jason
There are so many amazing things about this book, that I’m at a loss for words as to how to give it the praise it deserves. It is a character study of people done with pinpoint accuracy [and] a heart-breaking tale of the human condition and humans. It is universal, it is past, present, and unfortunately future. This is an extremely powerful read, that will have the reader feeling on edge throughout. With a hopeful ending, Hickey takes the reader full circle through the minds of his lead characters and ultimately through the psyche of America
Everything about Parabellum was beautifully complex. I particularly enjoyed the underlying analysis of each character’s mindset [and] I was blown away by the author’s ability to write such phenomenal scenes. I recommend Parabellum to readers interested in a fictional commentary centering on the psyche of those involved in traumatic events.
David A. Bates
This is actually four books in one, with an eerie subplot thrown in for good measure. The book opens with the aftermath of a bloody shooting on a beach in Chicago. The rest of the book follows the lives of four decidedly damaged individuals, one of whom is the shooter. It is left to the reader to figure out whodunit. All the clues are there. The stories of the characters build up to the climax. As the four people move through their lives, they become more and more dysfunctional. Any one of them has the psychological motivation to commit such a crime, but only one actually does it.
I’m at a loss of words for this book, probably my darkest read this year. Dark not because of the usual grotesqueness, crime drama that you would expect, but purely from a sense of how real it got too soon. The premise is interesting – a shootout happens in a beach at Chicago, and the story flashes back a year, following the lives of 4 folks as parallel streams. The writer has managed to paint a very realistic picture of the lives of a few people, drawing a spectrum of their pains, struggles, trepidation, and a constant need to question self existence.
For instance, the author hits bullseye with the feelings a student goes through with constant bullying at school, capturing the suppressed angst, desperation and paranoid helplessness beautifully. The lives of a once-athlete who is not only beleaguered by injuries, but has memories gradually eroding away, along with the war-torn struggles of a war veteran make for poignant candidates.
M.J. Evans
This psychological novel starts at the end in which a killer has murdered numerous people on a Chicago beach then backtracks to explore the tragic lives of five damaged characters. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. The character development is powerfully done and the scenes are flawless.
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Media
Articles
- Modern American Gun Culture and the American Frontier (History is Now) – April 6, 2022
- Mass Shootings and the Failure of Empathy (The Good Man Project) – May 8, 2021
- Writing Through the Darkness (Kings River Life Magazine) – February 10, 2021
- How to Enjoy Difficult Stories (Bookish Indulgences) – November 21, 2020
Interviews
- Linda’s Book Bag – April 25, 2022
- Chris Donovan – November 4, 2021
- GSMC Book Review Podcast – June 12, 2021
- Writer Types Podcast – March 22, 2021
- Chapter One Podcast – February 19, 2021
- Madame Perry’s Salon – November 11, 2020
- Chatting with Sherri Podcast – November 10, 2020
- It’s a Mystery Podcast – November 9, 2020
- ImaginePublicity on Air – November 5, 2020
- Fairy Tale Access – October 22, 2020
- House of Mystery Radio – October 20, 2020
- Curtis Stratton – September 15, 2019
Reviews
- Lu’s Wonderland – June 3, 2022
- Steph’s Book Blog – October 29, 2021
- Christina’s Bookescapes – August 14, 2021
- Sarah Jackson – June 28, 2021
- Story for Dessert – June 12, 2021
- Denice’s Day – January 25, 2021
- Book Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina – December 30, 2020
- Tome Tender – December 5, 2020
- Confessions of a Reading Freak – October 27, 2020
- Reading Is My Remedy – October 27, 2020
- Cup of Books – October 25, 2020
- Seven Circumstances – October 21, 2020
- Jennly Reads – October 19, 2020
- The Literary Apothecary – October 13, 2020
- Renee Reads on Life – October 13, 2020
- Umney’s Alley – August 24, 2020
- Book Vue – August 17, 2020
- Lori’s Book Loft – August 6, 2020
- Book Hog2 – June 30, 2020
Blog Posts
- Writing What I Know – September 20, 2020
- The Three-Act Structure and Violent Socialization – August 28, 2020
- Understanding Evil – July 20, 2020
- Media Coverage of Mass Shootings – November 23, 2018
- Memory and Mortality – April 28, 2017
- Big Ideas: Parabellum – July 15, 2016
- Three Misconceptions About the Columbine Attack – January 27, 2016
- Stages of Violence – December 21, 2015
- The 21st-Century Road to Immortality – November 28, 2015
- Are There Pathological Do-Gooders? – October 26, 2015