Smoldering Embers

Before he was arrested in 1984, X-ray technician Bobby Joe Long terrorized the city of Tampa, Fla., with a series of sexual assaults and murders that left 10 women dead and 200 hurt. McVey and Replogle are survivors of Long's rampage. Wellman had been victimized by another rapist, and approached the women after reading about their attacks. During Long's subsequent trials and convictions, the three women banded together in court to make sure he received the maximum penalty for his crimes. Wellman's voice is the one used throughout this account. She takes readers through the attacks on the others, making extensive use of newspaper accounts of the crimes, as she does when discussing Long's trials. While this technique provides useful depictions of Long's apprehension and of the legal wrangling that went on in his case, it slows the narrative and also eclipses the authors' more amateur prose. Despite glitches in the writing, however, a compelling picture emerges of three strong and determined women who fought hard to see that Long ended up in a cell on Florida's death row, where he awaits execution. 30,000 first printing. (June)