RED SPRINGS — A Red Springs lawman is walking readers through what he calls his “most memorable case” in a book titled “Monster Eyes.”
“I have investigated a lot of cases in my career but this one it seems to have stayed with me,” Maj. Kimothy Monroe said. “This book is about a town that was literally under siege for two long years waiting to see who the next victim would be.”
Monroe, now a part-time major at the Red Springs Police Department, recently published his premiere title, a book that was 10 years in the making. The case on which the book is based goes back in time to the 2001-2003 period beginning with the brutal bludgeoning of two women in a small North Carolina city, called Lawrence in the novel, and ending with the arrest of their killer.
“About 13 years ago I was involved in a murder and the case took so many turns and twists. It became very compelling to me how the case unfolded,” Monroe said. “It was a very interesting case. The people involved were interesting, and a lot of lives were entwined. A lot of lives were shattered.”
Monroe began writing about it.
“I had no idea I would have a book published, but it was something I just wanted to write about,” the major said. “The writing process is easy because you’re interested in the stuff you’re writing about.”
The book’s title came from a child. During the case, Monroe said he interviewed 2-year-old children.
“Of course they don’t have a lot of information to give you because they’re only 2, but one thing that stood out in my mind was that one of the children described this person as somebody who has monster eyes and that stuck with me,” Monroe said.
Although the 153-page book is not completely factual, it was written and based mainly on true events, Monroe said. He describes the book as “a lightweight, amateur-style psychological thriller that ultimately leads to the brutal death of two women in a small town.”
Despite the book’s title, Monroe walks readers through the plot using his own eyes. Using the first-person format was intentional, he said.
“I wrote it in that fashion because I was part of it. I was right in the middle of that investigation,” he said. “My objective is to place the reader where I am so they can imagine these things happening and they can formulate their own opinion.”
The book begins with Monroe’s early life, first growing up in New York and then moving to North Carolina. It touches on his law enforcement career, which spans nearly three decades.
Even though he is now a published author, Monroe dismisses any talk of being a career author and says as much in the first sentence of the book’s preface.
“This is the first book I have ever written and I have never had the slightest desire to write a book,” Monroe wrote.
What Monroe does claim to have is an in-depth knowledge and experience of the ins and outs of an investigation.
The now 58-year-old lawman already had several law enforcement positions under his belt before lending his experience to the Red Springs Police Department. Monroe began his career with the Smithfield and Selma police departments and went on to work for the state as an Alcohol Law Enforcement Agent. After leaving the agency, he got a job with the Laurinburg Police Department under the direction of Chief Robert Malloy. Monroe worked his way through the ranks to become the interim police chief before he retired in 2011, but came back to work in Red Springs about two years ago.
Monroe’s background as told in the book is all facts, he said, but when he goes on to talking about the case — like the name of the city — some of the places and characters are masked to respect the family of the victims or other parties involved.
“I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings in the book. I didn’t want to shatter anybody’s life no more than they already had been,” he said. “I wanted to be as careful as I could, as well as leave the integrity of the book intact.”
Despite it being his first book, the novel has resonated with many and garnered a pretty good following, Monroe said.
“The book is really transmitting quicker than I imagined,” he said.
He credits most of the success of the book largely to its publishing company, New York-based Page Publishing. The book is available for purchase at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon and Walmart. A book trailer is also available on YouTube.
Monroe hopes that readers get more than just crime and suspense from his book.
“It’s not merely about crime,” he said. “It’s not merely about murder. I want people to go away with more than that somebody committed murder, and I want people to understand that they can learn from this and they can prepare for tragedies in life. They can learn how to recover, how to recuperate, how to prevent things like this from happening.
“If it was just about murders, I could write you 15 books, but it’s more than that.”
Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at tsinclair@robesonian.com or 910-416-5865.
