What if Holden Caulfield were around when John Lennon was shot? In 1980 John Lennon was killed by Mark David Chapman, who believed he was Holden Caulfield, narrator of the classic "The Catcher in the Rye." After the shooting, Chapman remained on the scene calmly reading the book, which he later offered to police as his statement. "Catcher’s Keeper" asks the question, “What if Holden could have met Chapman, learned of his plan, and tried to prevent the assassination?” "JD Spero's thought-provoking novel spins an alternate reality where The Catcher in the Rye is published two decades later, and puts its publicity tour on a collision course with the murder of John Lennon. Through the distinct voices of Holden, his brother and his sister, Catcher's Keeper keeps us guessing whether they can change history, right up to its unexpected conclusion. A great debut novel." - Steve Alcorn, Theme Park Designer and Writing Instructor "My excitement at finally seeing what would have happened to Holden came home with the publication of Catcher's Keeper by JD Spero. From the beginning to the end the characters make one comfortably uncomfortable. The MD character was as disturbing as one would have expected and the integration of the three siblings Jerry, Alden, and Fiona make the journey as one would hope; intense, loving, and deeply moving. The novel is one I will be using in my classroom this year and for years to come because of its intensity, compassion, and commitment to truth, innocence, AND reality. An amazing piece of work by JD Spero. Thank you for letting your creativity flow while connecting to the iconic character Holden Caulfield." - Steve Malenfant, English teacher, Newburyport High School, MA (Retired) Years ago as a student teacher at Andover High School, my mentor handed me a VHS tape of an old Dateline video which featured Mark David Chapman's fixation on  The Catcher in the Rye and its influence in his murder of John Lennon. Every subsequent year I taught  Catcher , I would play that video for my class--and found myself equal parts enthralled and horrified with the tragedy again and again. How could I have known what that video would inspire years later?   This book was born from that fascination of mine--how a novel could move someone to act in such an extreme way. I also couldn't help but wonder what Holden would have thought if he knew what his words triggered. One of my writing teachers once said it is sometimes easier to outline your novel from the "crisis" backward. In order to place Alden (Holden) where Lennon was shot, I had to publish his report he wrote in the mental clinic (his journal aka  The Catcher in the Rye ) and somehow have him meet Mark David Chapman. As the book evolved, it no longer became about this incident, but how three siblings had to overcome serious familial issues. Each character is my invention alone, an artistic expression inspired by  Catcher  characters Holden, DB, and Phoebe.  Johannah Davies Spero was born near a pristine lake in the Adirondacks and has lived in various cities such as St. Petersburg (Russia), Indianapolis, Dallas, and Boston. She has pursued her love of narrative through degrees in English, Russian, and teaching-and has worked as an actress, a yoga instructor, web design entrepreneur, and high school English teacher. She lives in the Northeast with her husband and three young sons.