Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
In Arizona Chief Prosecutor Janet McNeil offers twenty-two years old white supremacist Jacob Hall one deal or face potentially thirty years behind bars; she demands he give her names. Places and dates that would enable the State to get Bobby Donahue and his leaders that run Ivory Nation. A calm Jacob smiles and gives her the finger before walking back to his cell.
Not long after the failed plea bargaining and the subsequent court appearance, Jan becomes the target of stalking and harassment. She assumes that minions of Ivory nation are using tactics to scare her off. Though she hides the fear in her stomach, she knows the hate mongers are impacting her especially when her past surfaces. Thus she relishes that her next door neighbor former FBI Agent turned writer Simon Green keeps an eye on her. He has his reasons, one being he is attracted to the no-nonsense attorney while the other being he understands from personal his own experience the need to stop the dangerous hate bullies.
This tense romantic suspense thriller showcases how much harm racial hatred can do to innocent people. The action-packed story line is character driven as the lead pair hides their fears, but as the heat rises from the enemy, they struggle to survive. A subplot involving a little (perhaps too precocious) girl adds depth to a strong tale in which Tara Taylor Quinn makes a strong argument that the whole of hate crimes is greater than the individual parts as these cause much more damage to the psyche of society than the act itself.