Social media

As promised, here is another brief sample from the unedited but copyright protected manuscript of Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. (Page 62, a chapter tentatively titled "The Exes")
"Sit in a restaurant or a bar, stand on a street corner or the post office steps, visit a local supermarket and listen to conversations or ask anyone to give an opinion on the Stacey Burns case and the 'How much truth' list would expand beyond belief. Add to those avenues for rumors the highly in-vogue possibilities of blogging, where people can literally say anything they want and express any opinion or theory, no matter how outrageous, and the blurring of truth, fiction and fantasy becomes a major problem. Inflammatory statements, frivolous accusations, astounding assumptions and presumptions, all enhanced by the power of the 'social networking' available through the internet, ricochet through the community like indiscriminate pin balls, wreaking havoc on the lives of those directly involved."

The "how much truth" list in this paragraph refers to some of the stories which circulated (and probably still are circulating) about life in the quiet and staid town of Wolfeboro. Extracting portions of a book and publishing them out of context is a dangerous thing and may not be especially productive. My purpose for doing so therefore deserves to be repeated. Here it is:
In the previous 55+ blogs on this subject, I've raised many questions, some basic and others more provocative in nature. Perhaps revealing some of what has been included in the book already will encourage participation by those who have chosen not to supply information to do so. That is my hope at this point.
duker