Boys Pond

Suspended high above the desert floor like a hanged man dangling at the end of a rope, Shot Harry is detonated at exactly 5:05 a.m. on May 19, 1953. The predawn tranquility is butchered with three times the atomic rage of Hiroshima and "Dirty Harry's" iridescent pink cloud rains burning radioactive particles on southern Utah. This event, plus an ill-fated volcano prank that kills two men (a friend and a sheriff's deputy) and leaves another critically injured will change the lives of J.T. Kunz and Mick Graff forever. J.T. and Mick are charged with manslaughter in the deputy's death. J.T. is devastated. Manslaughter is a felony and if convicted, he would have no chance of fulfilling his deathbed promise to his mother, namely, going on a mission for the Mormon Church. Mick, however, is unaffected. Though a Mormon, he has little time for religion. Mick's heath soon begins to deteriorate and he is diagnosed with acute myeloblastic leukemia, ostensibly from the radiation fallout. Faced with the prospect of his own death, Mick turns to God. J.T., on the other hand, is now becoming more cynical and disillusioned by God's apparent indifference to Mick's plight. He is forced to re-evaluate his own life and try to reconcile Mick's imminent death with his religion's conventional explanation of life, death and the hereafter. WARREN STUCKI Stucki is a native of southern Utah. As a young boy, he viewed the detonation of several atomic tests. Now, as a practicing physician, he has witnessed the havoc these tests have wrought on the citizens of southern Utah. Following graduation from the University of Utah Medical School, Dr. Stucki specialized in urology. At Dixie Regional Medical Center he has served as Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff and member of the Hospital Governing Board. In addition to "Boy's Pond," Dr. Stucki is the author of "Hunting for Hippocrates" and "Sagebrush Sedition." Three others, beginning with "Hemorrhage," followed by "Mountain Mayhem" and "The Death of Samantha Rose," are part of a "Dr. Cooper" series of novels. A fourth book, "Town Bell," is a prequel to the highly popular "Boy's Pond."