The local district attorney is intimidated by Mary’s reputation and is far more concerned about re-election and perfecting his barbeque sauce than hiring a “big city” lawyer even if she is the “hometown girl done good.” When the well runs dry on the farm she has inherited, she needs cash desperately and hangs out her shingle. Estates and wills are not her forte but she truly needs the money and then - a young Cherokee, Ridge Standingdeer who helps out at her farm, is accused of the vicious rape murder of a young woman and Mary takes the case.

People begin to take sides, whites versus Indians, town versus backwoods, and money and power versus poverty and powerlessness. Ridge is part of an ancient mystical clan who have long been shamans for the Cherokee which coupled with his natural reticence makes him a target for local prejudices.

As she investigates, Mary turns up a number of missing girls and whispers of a sexual predator preying on preteens. The reader knows who is guilty and learns of his personal turmoil as he gives in to his vile urges and simultaneously hopes for discovery. His anguished thoughts are reminiscent of the brilliant monologue voiced by Peter Lorre in the classic movie “M” in which he, too, is a child molester who pleads his case. Horror and revulsion mingled with pity make the reader long for justice mixed with compassion. I believe such individuals are made not born. Early abuse skews their emotions so badly that they cry for help even in their degraded actions. The culprit and the reader cry out for deliverance.

Sallie Bissell continues with her complex characters in this excellent series. The first I read was out of sequence and made me want to fill in the gaps. This can stand alone as an excellent work but the others in the series add rich dimensions to Mary Crow and her world. That Bissell succeeds in causing empathy for a child molester is testament to her writing skills.

--Jane Davis