A Darker Justice [Hardcover]

Sallie Bissell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2002

From the critically acclaimed author of In the Forest of Harm, one of suspense fiction’s most exciting new voices, comes a stunning psychological thriller, a novel of conspiracy and revenge and of a ruthless killer whose shocking reign of terror can be stopped by only one woman.

A Darker Justice

For Assistant District Attorney Mary Crow, the misty mountains of Little Jump Off, North Carolina, still echo with secrets hidden in shallow graves. Now, at the request of the FBI, she is called back from Atlanta to her childhood home for a matter both professional ... and deeply personal.

Three federal judges are dead — victims of an assassin so swift and skilled in the deadly arts that the only clue left behind is his trademark black feather. The killer’s last victim was executed in a fashion so brazen, brutal, and horrifying, it even has hardened law enforcement officials rattled. They are desperate to protect the next suspected target — Judge Irene Hannah — but the stubborn jurist has adamantly refused federal protection.

It is up to Mary — and tight-lipped, hard-boiled FBI agent Daniel Safer — to protect her old friend and mentor as best they can. But the threat is much closer to home than Mary could ever imagine. When Judge Hannah disappears, Mary must follow her on a terrifying chase through the Carolina wilderness she knows and loves.

Deep within the beautiful and treacherous forest, a rogue killer and his army of “soldiers” are waiting. Soon Mary will have to confront a battle for survival in a place where there is no law and no mercy ... only a darker justice.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, November 2001: One of the last year's most interesting debuts was Sallie Bissell's In the Forest of Harm, which introduced Mary Crow, an assistant district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, who is half Cherokee. Crow had some unfinished business in that book. Her mother was murdered and Mary discovered the body, but the murderer was never brought to justice. She also had residual feelings for an old beau, Jonathan Walkingstick, with whom she resumed their on-again, off-again affair.

At the start of A Darker Justice, Mary once again is in Atlanta when she is called away from a friend's wedding to be told that her mentor and friend, Judge Irene Hannah, may be the next target of a vicious killer who is murdering federal judges. When the judge refuses to accept help from the FBI, the feds ask Mary to intercede on their behalf so that they can put agents on her land to protect her. Hannah will have none of this, but does accept Mary's offer to stay with her as a bodyguard. Then, in one brief moment, she is abducted from under Mary's nose. In a race against time, Mary and FBI agent Dan Safer must try to find her before she, too, is killed.

In an equally compelling parallel story, we meet Tommy Cabe and Willett Pierson, who attend Camp Unakawaya in North Carolina. Their life at the camp, which is part military, part orphanage, is hell under the rule of Robert Wurth. The lives of Tommy, Willett, and Wurth will intersect with that of Mary Crow in an explosion of violence when many of Mary's questions about her mother's murder and her relationship with Jonathan will be resolved.

While I was a great fan of her first book, Bissell has written a second that is even better. --Otto Penzler

From Publishers Weekly

For those who missed Bissell's well-received debut thriller, In the Forest of Harm, Bissell briefly sums it up at the beginning of her second offering. Atlanta prosecutor Mary Crow, while at the wedding of her dearest friend, Alexandria McCrimmon, reflects on the horrific events that unfolded 14 months before: "Alex had accompanied Mary on a camping trip in the Nantahalah Forest. The trip had turned bad when Alex had been abducted by a psychopathic trapper. Ultimately she'd been airlifted from the Appalachian forests, half-naked and nearly beaten to death." If that sounds like a bad trip, the goings-on this time are even worse. A powerful, secretive right-wing cabal called FaithAmerica which has its eyes on the U.S. presidency has been using students at Camp Unakawaya, a last-chance military school for teenage boys, to knock off federal judges who veer too far to the left in terms of legislating racial equality. One of the school's students the only one ever to win the coveted Black Feather for total dedication goes too far and messily beheads a female judge, calling undue attention to the previous deaths. The next victim appears to be Mary's friend and mentor, Judge Irene Hannah, but Hannah stubbornly refuses protection, so of course Mary is the only one who can save her. This takes her back into the woods and the arms of her former lover, the enigmatic Jonathan Walkingstick, and finally underground into some dank caverns where truth and justice lie. Bissell's narrative drive should carry readers right along, despite some farfetched aspects to the story.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1St Edition edition (January 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553801317
• ISBN-13: 978-0553801316
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,911,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Sequel, October 24, 2002

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Darker Justice (Hardcover)

This is the second Mary Crow book and once again the tough no-nonsense attorney returns to the mountains of North Carolina, where she grew up and straight into a heap of trouble. Like the first book, it casts Mary as an intrepid heroine who is prepared to take on all comers regardless of how prudent her approach might be.

Someone is killing the federal judges of the United States, 11 of them so far. Although the deaths have been set up to look like accidents - apart from the last one, that is, it has become obvious that they're anything but. After the first 11 deaths, the FBI have strong suspicions about who will be the next target and want to provide close protection, but the judge won't hear of it. It just so happens that the judge in question, Judge Irene Hannah, virtually adopted Mary after her mother was killed and has become like a second mother to her. So the FBI ask Mary to step in to try to convince Irene to accept the protection offered. Of course, once Mary Crow becomes involved, she goes the whole hog and winds up providing more assistance than she bargains for.

Before the dramatic conclusion to this story, Mary has reacquainted herself with the serene Upsy-Daisy Ranch, had an uncomfortable reunion with old boyfriend Jonathan Walkingstick - and his new lover Ruth Moon, enjoyed an abrasive relationship with FBI agent Dan Safer, and underestimated the people who turn out to be dangerously ruthless enemies. It's well presented, riveting reading that manages to entertain from the opening chapter.

For those who have read the first book, this becomes a very informative sequel, answering some very important questions regarding Mary's past that were first raised in In The Forest Of Harm. Don't worry if you haven't read In The Forest Of Harm yet, because A Darker Justice sits just as comfortably as a stand-alone thriller as it does part of an on-going series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Somber Tale, August 20, 2002

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Darker Justice (Hardcover)

Mary Crow returns for a second outing after her debut "In the Forest of Harm." She is a successful Assistant District Attorney in Atlanta, but has strong ties to her mountain upbringing and Cherokee heritage.

Mary is called in to help persuade her mentor, Federal Judge of the 4th Circuit Court, Irene Hannah, to accept FBI protection. Eleven of the twelve Circuits have had a mysterious death among their judges during the past year. The 4th Circuit is the last one. Judge Hannah has stoutly refused any type of protection.

There are subplots galore in "Darker Justice." Mary's long time lover, Jonathan Walkingstick has a new love interest (much to Mary's dismay) who is a full-blooded Cherokee, a tepid attraction grows between Mary and FBI agent Dan Safer and Judge Hannah herself has a courtly Irish farmer swain. "FaithAmerica," a wealthy televangelistic group has designs on world domination, and there is a "camp" for poor boys right in Irene's backyard run like a Marine boot camp by Soldier of Fortune, Sergeant Robert Wurth.

In the strongest section of the book, two boys, Tommy and Willetts, try to discover the secrets of the draconian Camp Unakayawa to facilitate their grand escape. The hidden cachets in the mountains, the moldering old pile of a once abandoned castle-like building and the interaction between the two boys show Ms. Bissell at her best.

The author keeps a tight rein on her many threads, and leaves no strings dangling. The pace is good as are the characterizations. I had some problems with Judge Hannah who seemed almost too good to be true, and became a mite weary with Mary brooding over her love life. As yet, Ms. Bissell has trouble bringing mature male characters to life, but she has improved in this area since her last novel. I wish she would dispense with some of the slash and gash; with her strong feel for the mountains and the people who live in them, I feel she could write her own ballad books that could stand the test of being compared to Sharyn McCrumb.

"A Darker Justice" is a good second book and highly readable. Ms. Bissell is improving all the time. Probably best read in order.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read!, January 24, 2002

By 

Rochelle Dian (Valparaiso, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Darker Justice (Hardcover)

Sallie Bissell knows people; she understands the complexity of personality, and has no inhibition about delving into the darker side of the human mind. In A Darker Justice she has painted a prolific scenario of greed and power counterbalanced by her female protagonist-Mary Crow-who portrays the strength and determination of all women with a purpose. This is the finest psychological thriller I have read in a very long time. If you have not read Bissell, you have not experienced pure exhilaration!