Forests of the Night

October 25, 2004
A starred review indicates a book of outstanding quality. A review with a blue-tinted title indicates a book of unusual commercial interest that hasn't received a starred review.

FORESTS OF THE NIGHT
James W. Hall
. St. Martin's Minotaur
, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 0-312-27180-8

Police detective Charlotte Monroe arrives home in Coral Gables, Fla., one evening to find her lawyer husband, Parker, and their teenage daughter, Gracey, chatting amiably with a man she's never met, Jacob Bright Sky Panther, the Cherokee nephew of one of Parker's old friends. The always observant Charlotte recognizes Panther's face—he's number eight on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Before the SWAT team can arrive, Panther has fled with Gracey in tow, and this fast-paced, entertaining thriller has kicked into high gear, taking the reader to the mountains of North Carolina and deep into the pasts of Panther, Parker and the entire Cherokee Nation. The plot linking these characters is, predictably, convoluted and over the top, but it's compelling, with action scenes that bristle with visceral intensity. But Hall's real strength is characterization. Charlotte is a fascinating protagonist with an unusually valuable gift—an unparalleled ability to interpret facial expressions—but her role is more that of concerned parent and troubled wife (one hopes her investigative prowess will be a future novel's focus). Nearly everyone has real depth, and the author's appreciation for history and its reverberations adds further complexity. Agent, Richard Pine. (Jan. 19)

Forecast:
Blurbs from Russell Banks and Reynolds Price will help attract readers of literary fiction who usually avoid genre titles. Author tour.

March 7, 2005
Possessing an almost supernatural ability to read people's facial expressions and body language, Florida police officer Charlotte Monroe has a distinct advantage over the criminals she faces on the streets. Though the FBI wants her to join a task force composed of others with a similar talent, Monroe wants nothing to do with the organization. That changes, however, when she comes home to find her husband, a defense attorney, talking to Native American Jacob Panther, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives. When Panther escapes and Monroe's schizophrenic daughter, Gracey, follows him, Monroe begins working with the FBI to recover her missing child. Merlington adeptly brings these characters to life, from the gruff-talking FBI agents to the deliberate speech of Hall's Native American characters. As Monroe, she alternates from professional police officer to frenzied mother, but it is her portrayal of Gracey that stands out; she convincingly expresses Gracey's schizophrenic highs and lows, as well as the multitude of voices echoing in her head. Based on the St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Forecasts, Oct. 25, 2004).