This is the second book in Sallie Bissell's Mary Crow series. I read the last book first, not realizing it was a series until it was too late, so I'm starting it with the knowledge of where the characters are now. I am now working my way through the series in order.In this entry, Mary is an ADA in Deckard County, GA. She stays in touch with the hometown crowd in Pisgah County, NC, but her life is in GA and she is determined to move forward after the events of In the Forest of Harm. However, her surrogate mother figure, Judge Irene Hannah, is in danger, and Mary is asked by the FBI to convince Irene that she needs their protection. I need to talk about some plot lines, so SPOILER ALERT!1. It's what, 18 months, after the girls were terrorized on their camping trip. I'm not saying that these girls can't move on, but I have yet to see real people go through something like that without having PTSD or some other lasting effects. That part was a bit disappointing to me. Maybe if Bissell had moved the time to 5 years after the first book, it would be more believable. 2. What we're told in the first book is that once Mary's mother was murdered, her paternal grandmother came and took her away. No mention of Judge Irene Hannah in the first book (that I can recall.) But all of a sudden, Mary has this huge relationship where Irene was practically a second mother? 3. Did Irene REALLY have to die? Mary's lost her parents, her grandmother, and now her second mother? I mean, come on.Now that I've told you what I didn't like, let's talk about what I did.1. I am glad that Mary just doesn't pine over Jonathan. They tried it to be together for awhile and it didn't work. Good for her for being open to others.2. I started to worry that this series would become like Kathy Reichs' Tempe Brennan series, in which the character is NOT a detective or FBI agent, yet still investigates crime and manages to nearly get herself killed every time. Mary, also, is NOT a detective or FBI agent, but she has a personal connection to each case. That saves it for me.3. The writing is still very good. Even if I don't agree with the inconsistencies or the end, the writing is still solid in general. Good entry.
