With Red Hands [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Woodworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2004

Natalie Lindstrom was once one of an elite group of investigators with the power to interview the dead victims of violent crime. But now Natalie has had enough. Enough of the violence. Enough of the darkness that has already gotten too close to her five-year-old daughter. Yet as she tries to build a new life and protect her child from the world she has left, Natalie still knows injustice when she sees it. And she knows that in a high-profile California trial, a young man is getting away with murder.

The case against Prescott Hyland Jr. is airtight–until a corrupt Violet delivers devastating testimony against another man. Now Natalie is being drawn back into her former career and a danger far worse than she can imagine. For while one killer is being tried in a courtroom, another has gone horribly free: to unleash a storm of vengeance–aimed straight for the heart of Natalie’s new life. Because, in the world of the Violets, sometimes your past can literally come back to haunt you. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Woodworth's fast-paced and imaginative sequel to his amazing debut, Through Violet Eyes, revisits the world of the Violets, a small group of individuals born with violet eyes and the ability to communicate with the dead. Society has accepted the idea that death is not the end, and courtrooms regularly employ Violets to introduce testimony from murder victims. When a teenage boy is put on trial for shooting his wealthy parents, a well-known Violet takes the stand and channels the dead parents to confirm that it was someone other than their son who pulled the trigger. Meanwhile, Natalie Lindstrom, a Violet who has retired from the job and is working hard to prevent her daughter, Callie, from entering it, examines the case and discovers that the Violet on the stand might be falsifying the postmortem testimony, something previously thought impossible. Natalie's also grappling with her mother, a Violet institutionalized years ago; her mother says she has been visited by the Thresher, a ruthless killer who refuses to stop his ghoulish work even though he has been executed. The separate story threads weave together seamlessly as Woodworth unveils the "Needlepoint killer," whose viciousness makes Hannibal Lecter seem like a Sunday School teacher. As with Through Violet Eyes, the violence in this book is matched by its intelligence.
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From the Inside Flap

Five years after the events of THROUGH VIOLET EYES, Natalie Lindstrom is struggling to make it on her own--without Dan, without NAACP support, and with a small daughter to support. She is keeping herself alive in the private sector by contacting the dead for grieving relatives, enabling them to make their peace--or not--with the departed, and trying to keep her Violet-eyed daughter out of the NAACC's clutches.

But then when an old friend and public prosecutor comes to Natalie for help on a particular case, Natalie once again finds herself dragged into the world she sought so hard to avoid. But how can she not help? A corrupt lawyer is on the verge of getting his second murderous client acquited--this one a young boy accused of brutally slaughtering his parents. So Natalie agress to help her old friend--very illegally, and very much behind the scenes. And, as it happens, that is only the beginning of her problems. Especially since, in the world of the Violets, secrets from your own past can literally come back to haunt you...

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Dell (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553586459
• ISBN-13: 978-0553586459
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greetings, fans of the psychic and supernatural! I'm Stephen Woodworth, author of the Violet Series of paranormal suspense novels, and whether you are a reader of my previous books or a curious newcomer, I welcome your interest in my writing. I've wanted to tell stories almost from the time I learned to read'to give other people the thrill of excitement and adventure that books have always given me.

The idea for THROUGH VIOLET EYES, the first book in the series, occurred to me after watching far too many true-crime TV shows. Inevitably, whenever these shows depict an unsolved murder case, the host will come on at the end and, in a grim, hard-boiled baritone, say something like "The only people who will ever really know what happened on that fateful night are the killer... and the victims." And I got to wondering: What if a detective could interview a murder's ultimate witness? Indeed, what if this became standard procedure, and victims could even accuse their killers in court? Could someone still get away with murder in such a world? Would the dead be any more reliable than a living witness? Or would they merely add their own prejudices, misconceptions, and hidden agendas to a homicide investigation?

From such speculation were born the Violets, a group of violet-eyed mediums, rare genetic anomalies who are prized by society for their abilities yet shunned as freakish reminders of human mortality.

As I started writing, I began to contemplate the dramatic possibilities offered by a world in which the door between the living and the dead is left open. Here is an alternate reality in which one could buy a freshly painted Picasso or a CD of a symphony that Beethoven composed from beyond the grave. A place where the dead can guide avaricious archaeologists to hunt for hidden treasure. A world in which, for a price, one can make amends with estranged family members who have passed on.

I hope that, through the Violet novels, you will enjoy exploring this world as much as I have.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspense and Surprises--Even Better Than the First Book!, November 23, 2004

By 

Kirkwood Bell - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Red Hands (Mass Market Paperback)

In his best-selling debut, "Through Violet Eyes," Stephen Woodworth introduced readers to the world of the Violets, the few people born to each generation who possess violet eyes and an ability to communicate with the dead. In "With Red Hands," the second in the Violet series, Woodworth proves that his unique world is one that becomes even more exciting as he delves into its vast potential.

The gifted and beautiful Violet Natalie Lindstrom returns as the central character of this novel. Nearly six years after breaking with the government agency that exploited her abilities for so long, Natalie struggles to support herself and her five-year-old daughter, Callie, who is also a Violet. Though estranged from the rest of her family and harassed daily by government-surveillance goons, Natalie perseveres-until her involvement in a murder trial threatens to take away everything she's worked so hard to keep.

Suspense and mystery fans will delight in the near-perfect plot, which features Natalie getting involved as a secret consultant in the murder trial of Scott Hyland, a seventeen-year-old boy accused of killing his parents. Along the way, Natalie discovers that the testimony of the victims is not all it should be. This discovery leads her to the heart of her worst childhood nightmare-and could result in the destruction of the family she never knew she loved so much.

As with the first book, this one is written in an easy-to-read, highly visual style that has the reader racing breathlessly through the story, almost like watching a film. The book takes on added depth, though, as the action affects various family relationships-Natalie's, accused murderer Scott Hyland's, and even those of the man who she hoped was only a bad dream.

Woodworth is a first-rate writer who knows what readers want: page-turning suspense, likable characters, situations that are fantastic and yet startlingly close to our own realities. His books have that "can't put it down" quality characteristic of the best fiction meisters. I can't wait to see what Woodworth has in store for us the third time around!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put this down!!, January 10, 2005

By 

E. Hendy (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With Red Hands (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book in one day! I really enjoyed Through Violet Eyes, but Stephen Woodworth is only getting better. Loved this book! Vincent Thresher is scary as hell. Looking forward to the next one!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars glued to the pages, January 5, 2005

By 

windy one wyoming (wyoming) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Red Hands (Mass Market Paperback)

I hadn't read the first of these books but this one was a great
thriller. I was glued to the pages and couldn't put it down. I guess now I will have the read the first one "Through Violet Eyes" and then wait until 2006 for the next Natalie Lundstrom
character to return.