Five Questions for Ezekiel Marrs | Phil Giunta – Award-Winning Writer of Fun, Frightening, and Fantastic Tales

In Weldon Burge’s debut suspense novel, Harvester of Sorrow, police detective Ezekiel Marrs takes on drug dealers, ritual murders, and a twisted version of voudon religion in the heart of his hometown, New Warfield.

I had a chance to interview Detective Marrs to discuss this latest case as well as his career in law enforcement and the challenges he faces in balancing work and family life.

Five Questions for Detective Ezekiel Marrs

Detective Marrs, what led you to a career in law enforcement?

Well, I come from a family of first responders. My father was a firefighter, and my mother was an EMT. Several of my uncles were police officers. Being a cop seemed like a natural progression to me. I guess it’s in the genes. I’ve always wanted to be a detective, to be involved with investigations and solving crimes. Nothing against street cops, and I certainly did my stint there. You can’t be an effective detective without first spending time in a patrol car and dealing one-on-one with people on the street and in their neighborhoods. But wearing a shield and being an investigator, that’s where I belong.

What are the most challenging aspects of working as a detective in New Warfield, the town where you were born and raised?

As far as working in my hometown, I wouldn’t have it any other way. My challenge is to be a normal, average citizen, someone with no “police ego” like many people assume cops have. I’m here for the people—my neighbors, the local business owners, all my friends and family. Many I’ve known for years, some even decades. New Warfield is, and always will be, my home. Sure, I’m a police officer. And my neighbor owns a deli. My brother-in-law sells aluminum siding. The lady across the street grooms pets. In truth, we’re no different. I must always keep this is mind, especially when I’m on the job.

Want to know what challenges me the most? The cold cases are the worst and the most frustrating. Like the case I just finished. Even though we cracked the case and took the criminals off the streets, we still haven’t identified—in fact, haven’t found—all the bodies they left behind. You never win a cold case. There will always be residual emotions, usually sorrow and guilt, even after we solve a crime. It never really ends, you know.

You just closed a dangerous case involving the voudon religion and ritual murder. Have you ever worked a case in the past involving religion, spirituality, or the occult? If so, can you tell us about it?

Occult, no. Religion, not so much. And definitely not vodoun. The Edouard LeBorg case was beyond anything I’ve had to face in the past. Drugs, kidnapping, murder, voodoo, and two of the vilest criminals I’ve ever encountered. I’ve never been in a more dangerous situation.

Spirituality, though? That impacts many criminal cases. I often wonder about the spiritual aspects of my job. I know that sounds odd coming from a cop, right? But as a police officer, you often see things that make you question your beliefs. When you see the body of a child, naked and left to the elements, deep in the forest of a state park, you wonder if there is a God. How could a supreme being permit such an abomination, such cruelty? But, at other times, you see someone saved from a deadly situation, a situation that should have led to the person’s death. I can only explain it as a miracle. Some things are inexplicable, but they hint at a balance in the universe. At least, that’s what I believe.

Are you working on any difficult cases now, high-profile or otherwise, that you are allowed to discuss?

I don’t generally deal with arson cases, but there seems to be a serial arsonist in the city and there are suspicious deaths involved. I haven’t been pulled into the investigation yet. Police detectives rarely get involved in arson cases unless criminal intent is suspected, but it appears the recent fires may be more than mere arson. I don’t know yet. Right now, I’m focusing on the paperwork after the LeBorg case.

As a husband and father, how do you strike a balance between work and home life? How successful are you at shielding your wife and children from the often harsh and grisly aspects of your work?

Separating the job from home life always presents a challenge. You must leave the job at the door. But, of course, Nikki, my wife, worries endlessly and always wants to know everything I do. I never lie to her about my work, but I also try not to go into much detail. I intentionally leave things out when talking with her. She doesn’t need to know the horrifying situations I often face.

For my two girls, they’re so young that I don’t think they really know what Daddy does. I focus on the positives of police work—and there are many positives when I help people, which happens far more often than the negative things. They like to hear me tell them stories about where the good guys win. But, like my last case dealing with the kidnapping and murders of children? I just had to push that out of my mind when I was with my girls. And now I have a baby son, the essence of innocence. I will protect him from the uglier side of my work as well.

Harvester of Sorrow (An Ezekiel Marrs Thriller: #1)
Weldon Burge

Paperback and Digital Release $15.95/$4.99
(ISBN: 978-0-578-95444-8)
November 16, 2021

A whirlwind of tragic, terrifying events …

A vodoun priest is brutally slain in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

On American soil, a man stands atop his car—naked from the waist down—and suddenly succumbs to a mysterious death.

Within the silence of a state park, an abducted child is found dead, yet another in a series of similar slayings.

In the small city of New Warfield, ODs have skyrocketed from the use of cocaine laced with an undetermined substance.

Detective Ezekiel Marrs may just have the wealth of strength and skills needed to fight these dark forces, to uncover the facts behind these hideous cases and how they relate to one another. With his team, Ezekiel takes on the immense task of putting the pieces together, making the connections that will hopefully solve this puzzle and stop the seemingly endless death and destruction.

But when Ezekiel and his fellow police officers find themselves facing two of the most vicious adversaries they’ve ever encountered, more lives hang in the balance as they battle to survive a deadly, inevitable confrontation with unimaginable evil.

For publicity information, please contact John Raab at editor@suspensemagazine.com

“Burge’s debut thriller kicks down the door and comes at you with both barrels blasting.” — Ronald Malfi, award-winning author of Come With Me and December Park

“Harvester of Sorrow is an impressive debut novel from Weldon Burge, and an exciting first installment in what will undoubtedly be a successful series featuring Detective Ezekiel Marrs. Assured, gritty, expertly paced, and sleek as a bullet, Burge’s eerie and intense tale of grizzled detectives frantically searching for a ritual killer who may be far more than he seems is not to be missed. I could not put it down!” — Greg F. Gifune, best-selling author of The Bleeding Season and Midnight Solitaire

“Rich in description and tension, with a colorful cast of characters, Harvester of Sorrow starts with a bang and never lets up. Weldon Burge has done a masterful job of creating an exciting, entertaining tale. Highly recommended.” — Joseph Badal, Award winning author of The Carnevale Conspiracy

“Welcome, Ezekiel Marrs, to the hall of great detective heroes. In HARVESTER OF SORROW, we get a front-row seat as Marrs confronts a sadistic, unforgettable killer with a rare and terrifying background: the bloody, dark arts of voodoo. It’s a no-holds-barred run to the explosive climax where it’s not a sure thing that Marrs will even survive. Grab a drink and find a comfortable chair to enjoy this new thriller from Weldon Burge … but leave the light on until you finish.” — Matthew Iden, best-selling author of the Marty Singer detective series

“This story drew me in and built speed with plenty of twists and turns. A great ride!” — J. Gregory Smith, author of Final Price, Quick Fix, and Short Cut

“Harvester of Sorrow is one hell of a ride. Great pacing, well-drawn characters that positively jump off the pages! Move over, Stephen King!” — Carson Buckingham, author of Gothic Revival, Noble Rot, and Home

“Burge has successfully brokered an unlikely—and happy—marriage between police procedural and supernaturally tinged thriller that will keep you turning pages ‘til the end.” — Dana King, two-time Shamus Award nominee and author of the Penns River procedurals

WELDON BURGE

Author of the Ezekiel Marrs thriller, HARVESTER OF SORROW

Weldon Burge, a native of Delaware, is the debut author of the thriller Harvester of Sorrow, the first in the Ezekiel Marrs series published by Suspense Publishing. He is also a publisher and full-time editor. Weldon’s short fiction has appeared in many publications, including various magazines and anthologies (such as Crimeucopia, The Best of the Horror Society 2013, Pellucid Lunacy: An Anthology of Psychological Horror, Ghosts and Demons, Beach Pulp, and Scary Stuff, just to name a few). His stories have been adapted for podcast presentation by Drabblecast. Weldon is also a frequent writer for Suspense Magazine, often writing author interviews.

On November 16, 2021, Suspense Publishing will release Weldon’s debut thriller, Harvester of Sorrow, the first in the Ezekiel Marrs series. He is also currently writing a paranormal suspense novel that may also be the start of another series (but he hasn’t determined that yet). He intends to stay on the novel-writing rollercoaster for the future.

In 2012, Weldon and his wife, Cindy, founded Smart Rhino Publications, an indie publishing company focusing primarily on horror and suspense/thriller books, many of them anthologies. To date, the company has published 15 books, including Zippered Flesh: Tales of Body Enhancements Gone Bad, Insidious Assassins, Asinine Assassins, A Plague of Shadows, The Box Jumper, Broken: Stories of Damaged Psyches, and Green Tsunami.