‘Hand of Evil’ by J A Jance
Published by Pocket books.  October 2008. ISBN 978-1-84739

Ali Reynolds writes cutlooseblog.com, a blog about her life after being sacked from her tv station and losing her cheating nearly-ex-husband to a murderer.  Having returned to her childhood town, she is enlisted by the daughter of the wealthy woman who sponsored her through college to help write her memoirs.  A straightforward enough request, you would think, but which is fuelled by the threats of greedy relative and revealing a story of childhood incest.  Meanwhile an old friend and local detective, Dave Holman, is having a problem with his daughter and needs Ali’s advice and help.

Dave’s daughter Crystal, hating her new home in Las Vegas, hitches a lift to get back to her father.  She is picked up, but during the ride she and her “lift” become reluctant witnesses to a vicious crime.  The victim is known to Ali and so the push to find out what happened and who is responsible becomes important.  Along with this, she realises the danger which she and Crystal may be in.

This is a book full of plots, subplots, incest, murder, paedophilia, psychopathic behaviour and just plain teenage tantrums.  Jance uses the blog as a tool to weave thoughts and some insights into the storyline, without seeming too contrived.  In addition, the blog respondents offer some differing views on the issues at stake, as well as introducing a feeling that the internet can influence such a wide audience and link people with similar fears and grief, along with the negative impacts of abuse which it can facilitate.

Hand of Evil was an enjoyable book to read and, whilst there were almost too many threads to keep up with, it kept me guessing throughout.  The prologue seemed to belong to a different book altogether and it was a long way through the plot before it was explained, which added to the unpredictability of the storyline.  The characters seemed believable, particularly as they were flawed and very human, and some of the more difficult topics were handled with some sensitivity, often using the blog as a method of commenting on them.  Definitely another author I will look out for in future.

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Amanda Brown