Dark Justice by Brandilyn Collins

If I’d had any idea what those words would mean to me, to my mother and daughter, I’d have fled California without looking back.

While driving a rural road, Hannah Shire and her aging mother, who suffers from dementia, stop to help a man at the scene of a car accident. The man whispers mysterious words in Hannah’s ear. Soon people want to kill Hannah and her mother for what they “know.” Even law enforcement may be involved.

The two women must flee for their lives. But how does Hannah hide her confused mother? Carol just wants to listen to her pop music, wear her favorite purple hat, and go home. And if they turn to Hannah’s twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Emily, for help, will she fall into danger as well?

Pressed on all sides, Hannah must keep all three generations of women in her family alive. Only then does she learn the threat is not just to her loved ones, but the entire country . . .

My Review:
What a good read! The plot moves at a brisk pace, the characters are well-written and flawed enough to be quite believable. I especially liked the character of Carol, the eighty-two-year-old mother of Hannah Shire, who suffers from dementia. She can be pushed only so far. When she gets frustrated and begins her high-pitched scream, I can almost hear her!

The story is told by Hannah in a first-person account. This keeps the reader informed and flipping those pages as quickly as they're read. Interspersed throughout the novel is the transcript of an investigation of the terrorist activity. Therefore, the reader understands what the good guys are doing while Hannah struggles with her newly complicated life. Third-person point of view is used for the bad guys, allowing the reader to "be a fly on the wall" during those scenes. All of these writing techniques add up to create one terrific, fast-paced novel.

The big question is: "who are the Bad Guys?" and "who can Hannah trust if anyone?" The author holds this information until the very dramatic and surprising end. I give this one a five-star rating.

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and BH Publishing for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.