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Feminist Mystery Reviews
BLIND BLOODHOUND JUSTICE
Virginia Lanier
Harper, July 1998,$23.00, 288
ISBN:0060175478
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Thirty years ago in Dunston County, Georgia, itinerant worker
Samuel Debbs was convicted for the kidnapping of two baby girls,
and the murders of one of the infants and their nanny. He was sentenced
to life, but received a conditional pardon for medical reasons.
His pardon would have been unconditional if he only he admitted
to doing the crime, but he refused, claiming he is innocent. Coincidentally,
the surviving kidnapped victim is also returning to the county.
The local sheriff, who lacks manpower and money, to look into
a three-decade old case, suspiciously wonders about the timing of
these two events. He asks Jo Beth Sidden, who trains bloodhounds
to work with law enforcement officials, to investigate the situation.
Jo Beth starts to ask questions, stirring up suppressed memories
of individuals who remember the crime. However, the more she uncovers,
the more Jo Beth becomes convinced that Samuel is innocent. As she
tries to prove her theory, she knows she must be careful because
lurking in the shadows is a killer who has escaped detection for
thirty years.
Virginia Lanier writes a terrific mystery that heavily relies
on logic and reasoning to use clues to find answers. There is also
plenty of action in this novel, especially the very realistic search
and rescue operation throughout the Okeefenokee Swamp for amissing
mother and child. Ms. Lanier is so visual that readers feel they
are members of the rescue team. The feisty Jo Beth is a gret role
model, a firm believer in the empowerment of women to do just about
anything. BLIND BLOODHOUND JUSTICE is a great reading experience.
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