The Sisters in Memory Makers

By Debbie De Louise

My new mystery release, Memory Makers, revolves around two sisters – Lauren and Patty Phelps. The two girls were very young when they were kidnapped from their backyards. Lauren, the younger sister, was only 3; Patty was 5 that summer day a man abducted them from the sandbox in which they were playing. Lauren escaped her captors, but Patty was later found dead. For years, Lauren had nightmares of the “shadow man.” At 28, and a kidnap investigator, she learns of a clinical trial of a new memory drugs and volunteers for it in the hope or recalling the face of the man who murdered her sister.

As Lauren begins to recall pieces of her past, she faces facts about her relationship with Patty and her parents that she hadn’t consciously acknowledged. Patty was both her mother and father’s favorites. Her father referred to his eldest daughter as “Baby Doll,” while he called Lauren “Little Squeaker.” When they spent time with their parents, Patty was always the one who got to choose the game to play, the book to read, or the place to go. Twenty-five years after Patty’s death, Lauren, suffering from survivor’s guilt at her sister’s death, also still feels the jealousy from her childhood that she needs to come to terms with. This guilt motivates her further to avenge Patty’s murder.

Like Lauren, I also have an older sister. However, we are 15 years apart, not two. That makes a big difference. I was the baby of the family with two older brothers, as well. Do any of you have siblings with whom you have a love/hate relationship or a child of your own who you might favor over another? I only have a daughter, but I know that it must be difficult for parents of multiple children to show equal affection to each one. That doesn’t mean you love either child any less, but it may appear that way to the child who seeks more attention and affection from a parent.