The Same Old Story Author:William LeRoy "Play it again, Sam, for old times' sake. . . It's 1998. Suddenly, tens of millions of men and women are online, "talking" to one another by instant written messages, meeting one another in chat rooms, often projecting made-up personas but also revealing their innermost selves. Many form intimate "virtual" relationships. Some fall in love, and ... more »try to "make it real" in the physical world. That appears to be the case when Johnny D'Agostino sends e-mail to Frankie Fitzgerald. One message contains a love poem; another says, I'm going to follow my heart and beg you to do the same; another pleads for a face-to-face nighttime meeting in the Boston Public Garden. Both Matt Finley and Peter Angelo come across the messages from "JohnnyD" to "Frankie007." Each interprets the correspondence as proof of a secret romantic affair, and part of a classic "eternal triangle." When Johnny D'Agostino is murdered at the approximate time and place designated for the Public Garden rendevous, Matt and Peter are pitted against one another in a fight for love and glory, a case of do-or-die. It's the same old story, another reprise of an abiding narrative of passion, jealousy and hate. And though the dawning of high-tech social media adds a nostalgic touch to this 1998 version of love story-turned-murder mystery, at its startling end the reader is dramatically reminded: The fundamental things still apply. . . . play 'As Time Goes By.'"« less