Hour of the Hunter by J. A. Jance:BOOKOZILLA

Hour of the Hunter

The hunter is free to kill again—and hour by hour, he draws nearer . . .

The brilliant psychopath Andrew Carlisle spent only six years in prison for the brutal torture–murder of a young girl of the Tohono O'odham tribe. The testimony of Diana Ladd—a teacher on the reservation—put Carlisle behind bars, and now she can't ignore the dark, mystical signs that say a predator has returned to prowl the Arizona desert. Because no matter where Diana and her young son hide . . . he will find them.

A critically acclaimed master of suspense, J. A. Jance, the New York Times bestselling author of Fire and Ice, transports readers into the beauty and mystery of the American Southwest . . . and into the very heart of terror.

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Editorial Review

From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on Native American life and lore as it describes the hunt for the killer of a Papago Indian girl, Jance's contemporary novel delivers suspense through rich layers of flashbacks and gritty characterization.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A hodgepodge hardcover debut in which two Native American medicine men, an Arizona lawman, a young widow and her son, and a Papago basket-weaver/wise woman are inexorably drawn into confrontation with the evil ohb, a university professor-turned- serial-killer, who upended their lives six years before when he tortured and murdered the basket-weaver's granddaughter and then stage-managed a suicide/frame-up for his distraught accomplice Garrison Ladd. Now he's stalking Ladd's widow Diana and son Davy, but his old MO (biting off nipples) used on a new victim has set the sheriff's department on his trail, while his malevolent spirit has energized the Papagos. There will be another murder, an attempted murder, dreams, emanations, and a near-fatal dog- poisoning before everyone converges on the Ladd house for a gruesome resolution. Disconcerting time shifts and a plethora of Papago parables (can anyone outdo Tony Hillerman?) fail to disguise the fact that this is nothing more than potboiler melodrama, with the hapless reader bombarded first by the lurid, then by the mystical. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
“A gripping thriller.” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )
“A graphic, horrifying journey into terror and torture.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch )
“Jance triumphs.” (Bellingham Herald )
“Intriguing...Jance’s novel delivers suspense through richly textured layers of flasbacks and gritty characterization.” (Publishers Weekly )
“Riveting suspense...Each of Mrs. Jance’s characters is complete and realistic, even the ones who make your skin crawl.” (Mostly Murder )
“Searing psychological suspense.” (Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel )
“Jance has a sure hand...Engrossing.” (Publishers Weekly )
“Reminiscent of Tony Hillerman’s mysteries, Kiss of the Bees’ strongest point is deftly defined characters.” (San Francisco Examiner )

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About the Author

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