Violation - Hardcover

Raising her teenaged son in a remote Humboldt County, Calif., town, rape victim Althea Auben begins this involving novel of psychological suspense as a reclusive computer researcher hiding from her past. When her son runs away to Thea's Long Island hometown to try to discover his father's identity, Thea's landlord and neighbor, Jack Verrity, a sensitive ex-cop struggling with his own memories, joins her in going after the boy. Together they face the dark secrets in Thea's past and in the process uncover a deadly North Shore real estate scam. The reader easily stays a step ahead of the anxious mother and her detective friend, yet the narrative proves affecting as North (Thief of Souls) provides an empathetic portrait of a rape victim's continuing torment, especially when Thea discovers that her life is not the only one that was shattered, and that a tangled web of secrets still exists. Occasionally, the story defies reason. Why would the detective read a printout of Thea's erotic fantasies (shared in an online chat room) and not suspect trouble? Still, readers absorbed in Thea's transformation from terrified dropout to unswerving avenger won't care about a few lapses of logic. Rights: Aaron Priest Agency.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In high school, Althea Auben was beaten, raped, and left for dead. For the past 13 years, she has believed that her attacker--and the father of her son--was safely in prison. Now she discovers not only that the man imprisoned for the crime could not possibly have committed it but also that her son may have been convinced to run away from home by the man who nearly killed her. Retired cop Jack Verrity, still recovering from his own personal tragedy, could be the only person who can help Thea find her son . . . if she'll let him get close enough to help her. This well-constructed thriller offers an unsettling, unflinchingly realistic portrayal of the psychic aftermath of rape. Thea could have been a TV-movie character, but she isn't. Jack, too, is a far cry from the typical retired-cop-with-a-sad-past. And a plot that could have been formulaic--mother tries to track down runaway son who doesn't want to be found--emerges as fresh and exciting. Don't miss this one. David Pitt