May has persuaded two college friends, also lawyers, to explore the wilderness area where she grew up. An improbable two friends, the first, Alexandra McCrimmon, a Texas cowgirl, the other, Joan Marchetti, a tiny Italian girl from Brooklyn, New York. Mary, the one with local knowledge has proposed to lead her friends on a hike, on what is supposed to be a physically challenging, but mentally relaxing holiday.

Although Mary remembers well the trails through the Cherokee National Forest, the journey to Atagahi, a warm water mountain pool, requires traversing some rather eerie sections of woods. What becomes the most unsettling part of all is the fact that several pursuers, neither of whom has the trio’s best interests at heart, are tracking the young women. What commences as a carefree holiday quickly evolves into a desperate effort for Mary and her friends to stay alive.

In her first novel, Sallie Bissell has penned a thriller with many points to recommend. It is easy for the reader to imagine the landscape as the young women make their way to their destination. The remoteness, the almost claustrophobic feeling they experience when walking through the Ghosts, an area of dense fog, or the desperation in their hearts, when they find themselves lost in the place Mary calls Hell become very real under Ms. Bissell’s tutelage.

The interplay between the three women adds an interesting dimension to the story. Due to the tension they feel in stressful situations, they are well aware of their own personal wants and needs and have no qualms about confronting each other when their needs are in conflict. The manner in which the author chooses to resolve these conflicts demonstrates much about the individual character of each of these young women. Ms. Bissell is also adept at giving the reader background information about each character. Sometimes the reader learns about the characters through flashbacks, or observations from other characters. In other instances information is transmitted through dialogue. The diversity is refreshing.

In In the Forest of Harm the reader is omniscient precluding any mystery in the conventional sense of the word, yet the author creates considerable tension. The reader knows the women are being stalked and by whom, but the women themselves are oblivious. Well meaning characters unknowingly assist those individuals with evil on their minds, creating a classic page-turner.

The main issues of the plot are tidily resolved by the last page, but the author has left several problems in Mary’s personal life which presents the possibility that this book is Act I in the life of Mary Crow. Hopefully, we will see Mary in a return engagement where she will have a chance to confront these issues.

--Andy Plonka