As
we near Halloween, I offer to you an exciting psychological-suspense
thriller by debut novelist Sallie Bissell called, In
the Forest of Harm.
This
novel features Mary Crow, a powerful Native-American Assistant
District Attorney in Atlanta. Mary is smart, talented, young,
and haunted by her past.
Twelve
years ago, her mother was brutally murdered by an unknown vagabond
in her hometown of Little Jump Off, North Carolina. Her grandmother
immediately moved her to Atlanta and she has never been back
to Little Jump Off...until now!
Considering that Mary knows the wilderness better than most
men and tour guides, she takes her best friends, Alex and
Joan, to her hometown to celebrate her sixth consecutive
win-a high profile court case in which she convicts the
rich and popular "Handsome" Cal Whitman. She hopes
this trip will clear the haunting dreams of her mother,
and inspire her to feel the way she used to about this once-familiar
corner of the Appalachians.
Mary
is aware of the dangers that mountains can impose: dense
fog, acres of bushes and thorns, terrible climbs, and steep
hills. But there are greater threats here that she could
never have imagined. What do you do when a quiet nature
hike turns into Deliverance gone bad?! Who is that man (or
is it men?) hiding in the trees? Why won't her Native American
ancestors leave her alone?
This fast-paced novel is full of twists and turns. Mary
hopes that this will be a relaxing journey for her and her
friends. Instead, she comes face to face with her fears
and does the only thing she can do-try to survive in the
forest of harm.
NOTE: If you like this book, and the character of Mary Crow,
Bissell is publishing a new novel (featuring this same character)
that will be released in 2002.
Additional Reviews
"The ability to draw on inner strength in a time of
crisis is not a new theme, but the struggle of these women
to survive will not be easily forgotten." - Library
Journal
"Bissell tightens the screws slowly and expertly, providing
some spectacular, often threatening, mountain scenery along
the way..." Kirkus Review
