Former Atlanta prosecutor Mary Crow returns home to Pisgah County, N.C., to reunite with her on-again, off-again lover, Jonathan Walkingstick, in her fourth adventure (after Call the Devil by His Oldest Name
). Luckily for her, Jonathan still carries a torch ("He wanted to touch her, wanted to kiss her, wanted to take her in his arms and never let her go"). After she's unable to land a job in any local legal outfit, Mary turns free agent, with her first client being the prince of Pisgah County, Deke Keener. Church deacon, girl's softball team coach and president of Keener Construction, Deke's also a longtime child abuser and cold-blooded killer. When high schooler Bethany Daws has her head smashed in with an Indian hatchet, everyone assumes her Cherokee boyfriend, Ridge Standingdeer, did it. Mary, who doesn't buy it, helps Ridge out. Meanwhile, Deke is planning his next molestation and trying to locate some incriminating tapes that Bethany had been threatening to use against him. It seems that Ridge is doomed until a mysterious spiritual savior arrives. Mary has all the right stuff for a gutsy heroine, and Deke is one of the foulest sexual predators in recent memory, but strong romance elements intrude on the action and threaten to overshadow the mystery. Those who prefer their genres served on separate platters should look elsewhere. Agent, Heidi Lange
. (On sale Mar. 29)
