Higgins: An American Story

Higgins: An American Story
Jeffrey S. Miller
Publish America, LLP
ISBN: 1-4137-8752-5
Fiction, Memoir
Reviewed by Katherine Maria Scott

J.D. Higgins is a dynamic character in Jeffrey S. Miller's Higgins; An American Story, who begins this exciting tale confined somewhere in Leesville, Mississippi where he imparts the memoir of his ordeal to the reader. J.D., born in Reagan, Mississippi was from a poor family that was ruined by the IRS. Both his father’s shop and grandfather's farm were forced to shut down because the IRS insisted they owed taxes on money they never earned. It was because of this unfair treatment that J.D. set out to attain the knowledge not taught in the schools and as a result, he earned a lot of money and became a state senator in Mississippi. However, that wasn’t good enough, so he decided to run for the United States Senate and then the presidency and of course, that's when his trouble began.

One night his fellow legislature and friend, Brett Turney, made an unexpected visit to him out the Higgins Center on behalf of Cal Rainey. Cal Rainey had put up the money and pulled strings for Higgins to get the state Senate in exchange for getting one bill passed, but since the bill never passed, Rainey wanted his money back. When Brett came at J.D. with a liquid filled syringe, J.D wrestled him to the ground and used the syringe on Brett, then fled with all that he had hidden at home. From then on, J.D.'s wild and bizarre adventure only weaved a massive tangle of events for Mr. Higgins. Just when he thinks he just might have concocted a cleaver scheme and gotten a lucky break, some random wildfire emerges to burn him yet again! In his attempts to keep a few steps ahead of Rainey J.D. goes as far as seek protection under the umbrella of a secret society.

J.D. is a charismatic and charming character with dubious character flaws and morals. J.D. isn't a typical protagonist since he participates in unscrupulous activities. Jeffrey S. Miller successfully conquers this dilemma by appealing to the reader’s empathy by using crooked agents of good old Uncle Sam, and the ever-hated IRS that wronged J.D.'s grandfather and parents. Thanks to the use of secondary character, Rainey, the reader sees how the IRS is used to collect money owed by having future descendents pay off the bad debts of their ancestors. The IRS acts as a secondary character that the average reader can easily identify as foreboding. Since the IRS's is already feared, convincing the reader that the IRS may also be malicious and evil in its practices isn’t that far a stretch from what the reader wants to believe every 15th of April.

J.D. may have had his vices, but overall, he tried to be a good and generous man in unforeseen circumstances. At one point, he befriended an African-American in the racist South and provided him with the clothing and the means to return home. JD’s character actively and generally showed compassion and concern for some of his secondary characters and he honesty provided assistance when he could, even in situations when perhaps the average Joe may have avoided conflict or pretended not see an issue that needed addressing.

Overall, the conflict and motivation are believable though toward the end it begins to escalate to a point, it's almost too ridiculous, but then that’s exactly where the story needs to go. The reader realizes J.D. is a man on the run, tormented by relentless demons, but wait until you discover the true enemy! It will blow your mind!

Jeffrey S. Miller's Higgins; An American Story is an excellent read and I loved the clever climax! I recommend this short fiction to any reader who enjoys a short fiction capable of drawing its audience into the pages from the very beginning and completely capturing its attention. This is one of those books where the reader gets to the end and says "OH! That's good..." Kudos to Mr. Miller! I can't wait to read his next American Story.