The Will of the Creator by Sammy Levitt

The Will of the Creator is the story of a serial killer in Philadelphia in the early 1980s. Charley, a Vietnam veteran who was sent home from the war after sustaining a gunshot wound to his head, is a main character. Charley, back in the States, receives brain surgery and is saved. Unfortunately, during his operation, Charley had a stroke. He opens a luncheonette along with his wife. The business fails, and Charley loses his mind. He blames homeless people for his failure and goes on a murderous rampage. The main character of the novel is Augie. He is a Philadelphia-area boxer who had his promising career obstructed by alcohol and drugs. Augie (based on a real boxer) made an unlikely and remarkable comeback in his thirties, going to the top of the charts. Augie got his chance at the title but lost it at the Philadelphia Spectrum. He fought once more and won a narrow decision but didn’t look good. He retired and worked selling soft pretzels and water ice from a wooden cart in west Philadelphia just as his Greek immigrant father had. He was in his mid 30’s and worked out at a local gym. One day while sparring with a younger boxer he was hit in the head with a jarring left-hook. He collapsed unconscious in the ring. Then, he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. It was determined that a major blood vessel near his brain had been ruptured. A major surgery was performed and he was saved. However a severe stroke occurred during the operation and Augie came out of it unable to walk or even communicate. Augie learn to walk again first with a cane, then independently. He reads, listens to a lot of talk radio, plays the horses, and seriously follows baseball. He pursues his dream of being a baseball writer and even begins to write a book about his life and remarkable career. Augie learns from his best friend about a series of murders in the city. The victims are vagrants who are all stabbed in a unique way. There are four victims when Augie learns of them. Charley, like Augie, listens to a lot of local talk radio. Augie hears Charley inadvertently say things that link him to the murders. And by the condition of the bodies, which rise to the number of ten over three years, Augie determines that Charley is the killer. The book also tells the story of local and international R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass, who has a car accident and is paralyzed. His story post-accident fits into this theme of faith, rehabilitation, and hope.