Shadows on the River

by Linda Hall,
Steeple Hill, 2009

The third and final book in Hall's Shadows series tells the story of Ally Roarke, a single mom in her late 30s who carries a deep wound from her childhood. After witnessing the murder of her best friend at age 13, and identifying the attacker, the son of the town's richest family, Ally is victimized herself when the incident is swept under the carpet and her accusations are not believed. Forced out of the town a year later, Ally abandoned her faith in God, and sees her life as evidence that God is not there or He doesn't care.

Now living, working, and mothering in Halifax, Ally focuses her attention on work and her profoundly deaf daughter, Maddy. Larry Fremont, the murderer of her childhood friend, lives in the same city, but it's a big enough place that they haven't run into each other.

That changes the day Larry's colleague is found in a hotel room, dead of blunt force trauma. Ally is sure the disreputable businessman is responsible, and this time she's going to prove it and show everyone that she didn't make up her long ago story. This time, too, she'll have help. Mark Bishop, a new colleague, has just as much reason to hate Larry as she does.

But can Ally really trust Mark? Or is he just using her? And what, if anything, does the mysterious Zacchaeus Plan have to do with this latest death? Hopefully Ally will find out the answers before she becomes the killer's next victim.

A quick read, with characters you'll care about and enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you wondering how it'll all pan out.

Shadows in the Mirror

by Linda Hall,
Steeple Hill, 2007

A friend of mine recommended Linda Hall a long time ago, and now that I've read her, I'm sure to seek out more of her work.

After her parents died, Marylee Simson was raised in Oregon by a maiden aunt. Now her aunt is dead and Marylee has returned to Burlington, Vermont to learn about her heritage, a subject Aunt Ruth would never address. What secrets does the town hold?

Soon after Marylee opens her craft shop and starts teaching classes, strange things begin to happen. The latch on the door to her balcony is mysteriously opened several times, her car alarm goes off in the middle of the night, a stranger seems to be watching her. A man she is attracted to seems both friend and foe - can she trust anyone, and what should she believe?

There are a couple of errors an editor failed to catch, and a few questionable plot points, but on the whole the story is well written and difficult to put down. The author offers questions for discussion at its conclusion, which help make it a suitable choice for a beginner book club.