Showing results by author "John Chierichella" in All Categories

Casualties of Passion is a story of relationships—relationships gone stale, relationships that never should have been, uncommon relationships that morph over time and endure, and relationships that erupt in violence. The common thread that runs through these relationships is sexual desire.

It is early on New Year's morning, January 1, 2023. Vicki has hosted a lavish party for the top executives of the company, which has just concluded one of its more eventful years. The guests have left and Vicki is staring at the recessed ceiling of her mini-mansion overlooking the Potomac River outside Washington, D.C. But those green eyes that stirred so many male hearts are vacant and still. Vicki Cole—beautiful, successful, and wealthy—is dead.

Nicole Beaumont is staring at an invitation from her neighbors, Ted and Maryanne Miller, to a pool party to kick off the summer season. As she looks at the date on the invitation, she realizes that her husband, Jack, will still be on another of his extended business trips to Los Angeles.

Abby was 38 when she decided that God did not put her on this earth to be unhappy. She had not married Tim out of love. He was, for her, a refuge from the alcoholic family in which she had been raised. Now, 13 years later, that refuge has become a prison from which she is determined to escape. She departs while he is working late, leaving a terse note on his nightstand. Tim tries to reconcile, but the vitriol Abby spews during their final conversation all but emasculates him.