Local author Richard McGonegal has published his first book - a mystery novel called "Sense of Grace."
"Sense of Grace" follows Sheriff Francis Hood as he investigates an attack on Jacob Grace, a recently released criminal who spent 30 years in prison for killing his wife and two of their three children. During his investigation, Hood meets and gets to know Angela Grace, the one surviving victim of Jacob's attack.
"What kind of triggered it was what would happen if a law enforcement officer was required to protect somebody who was really kind of a vile person," McGonegal said. "That would be putting them in kind of a difficult moral position."
The novel takes readers through Hood's investigation, as well as the lasting effects the attack had on Angela, who also has a neurological condition called "synesthesia" that causes her to see specific visual images when she hears certain sounds, which she captures through art.
"There's a few subplots and things like that, but I don't want to give too much of it away," McGonegal said.
While the novel is McGonegal's first to be published, he is no stranger to seeing his name in print. He has published 24 short stories in various magazines, including Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and he spent 41 years working as a reporter and editor for the Jefferson City News Tribune.
This isn't even the first time McGonegal has written about Sheriff Hood. The character was featured in a couple of his short stories, and he has written another full-length story involving the character that hasn't been published.
He's currently working on editing the first story to publish as a possible second installment and is writing a third one, with hopes of creating a series.
Writing and publishing his first full-length novel is a long-term dream come true for McGonegal. During his time writing for the newspaper, he always wanted to pursue fiction writing.
"I've always been fascinated by mysteries, and I thought, 'I'd like to do that,' and it became a hobby for me," McGonegal said.
In retirement, he was able to dedicate more time to the novel, which takes more time and effort than short stories.
"Short stories are difficult enough, but the novel presents a whole other set of difficulties," McGonegal said. "I had a lot of fun doing it. It's nice to have one under the belt, and hopefully, it'll give me a bit more credibility going forward."
"Sense of Grace" was published by Cave Hollow Press, out of Warrensburg. McGonegal said the publisher specializes in publishing Missouri authors.
"I hope people enjoy it," he said. "I write because I enjoy doing this. I enjoy storytelling, I always have, and I enjoy having a vehicle for my imagination. I just hope it's well-received, and I hope people find it entertaining and informative, and that's it's a good mystery. If I can accomplish that, I'll be a real happy fellow."
Copies of "Sense of Grace" are for sale at Downtown Book and Toy in Jefferson City or can be purchased on Amazon in physical or e-book editions.