John French Gives in to THE WAGES OF SYN

A new book by award-winning author John French, THE WAGES OF SYN, from Bold Venture Press, has 10 stories featuring Jericho Syn, alias The Scarecrow — the progeny of an early 18th Century character, Christopher Syn, a small-town doctor and vicar -turned pirate, smuggler and lawbreaker in a collection of books by Russell Thorndike. The earlier Syn creates an elaborate scarecrow costume, with eerie luminous paint, rides at night and has many encounters but, is killed at the end.  Like many characters who have survived in literature to the present including Zorro, known to have influenced new costumed vigilante-types like Batman, Syn left heirs. In John French’s Wages of Syn, the progeny Jericho Syn is an extremely likable character who doesn’t wear a costume at all, but is a slender, messy-haired fellow who walks a fine line between crime and the law. Like his ancestor, he is known to the hoods, the mob and the law as The Scarecrow. He deals in penance and he makes sure that the guilty always pay.

Lurking in The Shadows, shining law and vengeance on the city’s underbelly in Harbor City there are the police, and there’s the Outfit. And in the middle Syn walks a fine line between crime and the law. Known as the Scarecrow, he’s the man to see when no one else can or will help you.

Syn knows where the bodies are buried. He should — he’s put a few in the ground himself. But he’s always willing to help if the cause is just and the money is right.

So if you’re in trouble and don’t know where to turn, just step into The Shadows and look for Jericho Syn in the back booth. It’s dark there, better for him to hear your confession. But don’t expect absolution. The Scarecrow only deals in penance and he makes certain the guilty always pay.