The hunter is free to kill again — and hour by hour, he draws closer . . .
The brilliant psychopath Andrew Carlisle spent only six years in prison for the brutal torture–murder of a young girl of the Tohono O'otham tribe. The testimony of Diana Ladd — a teacher on the reservation — put Carlisle behind bars, and now she can't ignore the dark, mystical signs that say a predator has returned to prowl the Arizona desert. Because no matter where Diana and her young son hide . . . he will find them.
November 4, 1991
The author of the J. P. Beaumont series moves into new territory with this mystery that draws on Native American life and lore. Six years in Arizona State Prison have turned convicted rapist/murderer Andrew Carlisle into a killing machine. Along with his student Gary Ladd, former professor Carlisle was accused of killing a Papago Indian girl, and Ladd committed suicide rather than face the charges. Shortly thereafter, when crucial evidence in the case disappeared, Ladd's widow, Diana, and Rita Antone, the murdered girl's grandmother, pressed for Carlisle's conviction. Planning revenge on those who put him behind bars, the newly released sociopath goes on a murder spree as he tracks down Diana. Warned by the clairvoyant Antone of Carlisle's impending assault, Diana marshals her defense forces--including a blind Papago medicine man and a detective with a score to settle with the killer. Leaving a trail of corpses in his wake, cross-dresser Carlisle eludes the police and prepares to victimize his own family. Jance's novel delivers suspense through richly textured layers of flashbacks and gritty characterization, and, although the relationship between the mystical Papago folklore and the rest of the plot is not as clearly developed as readers might wish, it is an intriguing thematic focus for Jance and her fans.
August 31, 1992
Drawing on Native American life and lore as it describes the hunt for the killer of a Papago Indian girl, Jance's contemporary novel delivers suspense through rich layers of flashbacks and gritty characterization.