This is the debut novel of Jeffrey Cohen, 
Freddy Builder, the young man in question, is a man who feels he is destined for something big. He works as a store manager in a large department store, and is known for the very artistic displays he makes of the goods. His displays make the products shine, and serves to attract the attention of customers. And, due to the displays, his good sell out fast.
Twice he is made “Manager of the Month”. His name is even mentioned in connection with the much coveted title of “Manager of the Year” – a title that is very likely to bring with it a large promotion if he gets it.
But Mr. Builder doesn’t really care all that much. What he desires is something else: he wants to become a writer. He knows, can feel, the he is an artist at heart, not a department store manager. And then, on what could have been a great day for him, a major event in his life, he commits a brutal murder. He kills a girl he had been dating, Mindi Quintana. She had just given him very negative feedback on his manuscripts and rejected his amorous ambitions as well.
Being different, however, and perhaps even an artist at heart, Frederick Builder skillfully uses the killing and his own arrest as a vehicle for building fame. He gives interviews, is a guest in TV-shows, and systematically builds his fame – on the bones of his victim, so to speak – while his defense attorney watches it all in disgust.
This is an interesting debut book, with an intriguing and rich plot. However, the writing is a little raw at the times, and almost feels a little like stream-of-consciousness. As well, the beginning of the book is very uninteresting and too “caricature” in its approach. Overall, The Killing of Mindi Quintana would probably have benefited a lot from some heavy, professional editing. Still, if you are interested in crime fiction and wants to read a different kind of book, a crime fiction with a serious twist, this may be the book for you.
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I am really intrigued with this post and I recentely watched a video that covered this book and I have added this book to my list of books that I need to read. For me the fact that this is based on a true-life story makes this book even that more intriguing. I hear time after time people that are released from the justice system and they go back to commit another crime. I spend five years doing prison ministries and I worked with men that were going to be released back into society. Unfortunately the prison system is understaffed to truly change the person from being a criminal, they are staffed to provide care and safety, but their resources are stretched thin to really rehabilitate the criminal. Those that I did counsel did move back into society and didn’t return to a criminal behavior. I would guess this an emotional read and one that I would like to add to my library. His next book A Plea for Leniency also has an intriguing title.
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