aka McGuire—
former legislator writes compelling novel

By Sharon Warwick

Author Janet Entzel holds a copy of her novel, “aka McGuire.”

“I’ve been in and out of prison for thirty years!”
A quote from the local derelict? Hardly. This was Janet Entzel’s introduction to a group of interested readers one night recently at Amazon books. Janet (Clark) Entzel represented the Minneapolis south side for five terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1974-1984. It was during that time that Janet encountered the inspiration for a novel she has written and also a whole new career direction.

While in office, she served on the Criminal Justice Committee and decided that once she left the Legislature, she would like to work with criminal justice issues. She went to work for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, but this is getting ahead of the story. While running for office, Janet’s campaign headquarters was on the corner of 38th Street and Cedar Avenue. Across the street there was a well-known grocery and meat market and next door a tiny little restaurant where locals gathered for breakfast every day. Janet often stopped by for coffee or a quick breakfast and knew all the regulars. One morning, having ridden her bike from her home near Powderhorn Park to the campaign office, she came upon a number of Minneapolis squad cars near the intersection and learned that an investigation of a possible murder case was underway near the restaurant. A young woman had been abducted, assaulted and left for dead by Harvey Carrigan, one of the restaurant patrons. He was employed as a trash truck driver by the restaurant proprietor who also owned the truck. The police that morning were looking for Carrigan. They didn’t know until later that they were dealing with a serial killer who is believed to have killed a large number of women in the United States.

When Janet began working for the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC), she spent a lot of time working with women offenders, crime prevention and intervention programs. As she continued her work in the administrative offices of the DOC, Janet spent time at many Minnesota prisons including Lino Lakes, Shakopee, Stillwater and others. While visiting Stillwater, she unexpectedly met an old acquaintance, Harvey Carrigan, who is serving two life terms there. She was still interested in serial killers and decided that in her retirement she would research the subject.

Once she retired, Janet did make an attempt at researching serial killers only to discover that she really didn’t care to work on such a dark subject. She did think about writing a book though and she remembered the Harvey Carrigan case. The book she finally wrote is named aka McGuire. It is not a book about Carrigan or a serial killer, but the main character, Sean Byrnes, is an ex-convict and terrifying psychopath whose story will beg your attention beginning to end. It is the sort of book that will have the reader casting parts almost immediately. The story is intriguing, and the title aka McGuire is a clue to the storyline as Byrnes kills a prison psychiatrist and assumes his identity.

Janet’s knowledge of the prison system lends credence to her protagonist, a female warden who unwittingly crosses Byrnes path. While the story primarily takes place in Arizona, connections to the Midwest are evident, as the warden’s first job was in Minnesota.

Character development and descriptive locales add to the enjoyment of this story. Janet admits that many of the characters have traits of her friends and family. The time she spent in the southwestern United States gave her an array of authentic images on which to draw. When asked whether any of the incidents in the book were true, Janet said, “There are real things that happened in prison…but the plot is real fiction.”

Janet is already thinking about a sequel. She enjoys writing and said her family has been very supportive. “They are my greatest marketers,” she said. She has two daughters and three grandchildren. She credits her husband with giving her the encouragement and incentive to complete the book.

Janet and her husband now live in Coon Rapids, but she enjoys visiting the old neighborhood and meeting old and new friends at book signings. aka McGuire has been cause for a very busy fall and winter, however, the idea of that sequel will probably find Janet working hard in months to come.
“aka McGuire” by Janet Entzel (Beaver’s Pond Press–$17.95) can be found at independent booksellers throughout the metro area.