BOOK TOUR & REVIEW -- In the Shadow of Revenge - Patricia Hale ~ Mystery/suspense

In the Shadow of Revenge

by Patricia Hale

on Tour September 1-30, 2013

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery/Suspense Published by: Carina Press Publication Date: July 15, 2013 Number of Pages: 280 ISBN: 978-14268-9584-5 Purchase Links:

Synopsis:

Everybody thought brilliant Cecily would leave dead-end Miller's Falls for something better. But a two-decades-old tragedy locks her in place. Few understand the fierce bond that Cecily and Amelia share with Hilary, who was assaulted one summer as the two other girls watched helplessly. It's a bond of love and guilt…and a desire for vengeance that cuts clear to the bone. So Assistant DA Cecily Minos waits, eager to see the guy in her courtroom. When Amelia meets a man who has the tattoo the girls remember seeing that day, they think they've finally caught a break. But the police refuse to reopen the case, and it's up to Cecily and Amelia to pursue their suspect. Their investigation soon uncovers secrets best left buried. But the law is slow, and they've waited long enough for revenge…

Read an excerpt:

My lungs were tight as fists and the voice inside my head said run, but my legs couldn’t be trusted. Standing up wouldn’t have gotten me out of there, it would only have drawn attention to the pee that was warm in my shorts and it might have gotten Hilary killed if he was serious about running that blade across her neck. All of a sudden the man stood and keeping his back to us, lowered the kerchief and put a cigarette in his mouth. Hilary never moved though I saw her blink. She was looking at something far away like she was somewhere else entirely and I hoped that that was true so she wouldn’t have to know what happened. He pulled his baseball hat low over his face the same way it’d been when we first climbed into the railcar and without ever looking at us he jumped to the ground and walked away. “Stay here,” I’d told Amelia, though I knew she wasn’t going anywhere. And I ran. I ran faster than I’d ever run not even caring about the pee burning the inside of my legs. I’d taken the woods instead of the path, running in the opposite direction from the way he’d gone. My legs were scraped and bleeding by the time I’d reached the road and the stitch in my side had made it almost impossible to breath, but I just kept thinking of Hilary laying there and I couldn’t stop until I was pulling open my own back door. I ran into the kitchen and through the house until I found my mother kneeling beside her bed, rosary beads draped around her prayerful hands like a spider web. I stood in the doorway and looked at her, imagined wrapping my arms around her neck and her drawing me in, holding me. I imagined feeling safe. She glanced at me standing there then dismissed me with a nod of her head, knee deep in Jesus. I turned and ran for the telephone.

My review 

This was quite a powerful story and quite hard hitting from the start. It's the story of how childhood innocence that is so cruelly taken away, affected the lives of three 9 year old girls. One eventually became an assistant DA but was constantly haunted by the event and riddled with guilt; one turned into a promiscuous woman who just couldn't settle down and form a relationship; one became alcohol dependent and went in and out of rehab. One thing that never changed was the love and bond these three girls share.

When the subject of their fear and revulsion re-appears on the scene, they look for the chance of revenge.

I thought this a thoroughly enjoyable read. I loved how the author had created the bond between the three characters and how she had written them to be such different people, pulled together by a cruel act committed when they were children. The strength that they showed at times then moments of weakness, were very moving. 

It was quite a believable story; how they undertook to take revenge on the person who robbed them of their childhood. When things didn't go the way they planned, you felt their pain and frustration. There is the inclusion in the story of one of the girls using a ouija board, like they did when they were younger, when they sealed their friendship. Some other readers have said this wasn't needed in the book, but I disagree as it includes the ritual of self-harm which so many people inflict upon themselves, to relieve the pain and hurt of a trauma they've endured.

This was a well written story; full of content and with many twists and turns. It was in no way predictable and I found it hard to put down.

Author Bio:

Patricia Hale is a graduate of the MFA program at Goddard College in Vermont. She is a member of Sister’s in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, NH Writer’s Project and Maine Writer’s and Publisher’s Alliance. Her essays and articles have appeared in New England literary magazines and the anthology, My Heart’s First Steps. When not writing, she enjoys hiking with her dogs and kayaking on the lakes near her home. Patricia lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two German shepherds.
www.patriciahale.org

Catch Up With the Author:

Tour Participants: