Redemption by Laurel Dewey ~ review

Product Description from Amazon.com:


After a series of life-changing events, detective Jane Perry has resigned from the Denver Police Department. Trying to make a living as a private investigator, she finds her past haunting her at every turn and old demons rising up to torment her.
Then Jane meets Kit Clark, a woman who wants Jane to drive with her from Colorado to Northern California in search of a man who matches the description of the killer who murdered her granddaughter many years before. Kit’s convinced that the man has started to kill again and she wants to stop him. Jane thinks the woman is crazy—especially when she discovers that she’s a New Age devotee—but Jane is desperate for work. They head on the road, gathering critical information about the killer, and themselves, along the way. Jane has recently experienced several events in her life that seem to border on the paranormal, though she is a complete skeptic in that regard. Now, those experiences come with greater frequency. And when the trail of the killer leads to a fundamentalist church, the consequences of belief and faith propel her toward a deadly confrontation.
Once again, Laurel Dewey has created a novel as rich in character as it is in suspense. Juxtaposing spirituality and religion, mission and manipulation, revenge and redemption, this powerful, taut mystery confirms the author as a top-flight storyteller and promises to resonate in your soul.

My take on this book:

Katherine "Kit" Clark is convinced that the Lou Peters, the man who  raped and murdered her granddaughter Ashlee is at it again. When reasonable doubt was proven in the case of Ashlee,Lou is granted a new trial and he was ordered out of prison on bond. Now there is another missing girl and Kit is convinced Lou is the one to blame.
Jane Perry quit the police force to become a private investigator, and things haven't been going so well. While attending an AA meeting she decides to step out for a smoke and meets Kit Clark a sixty eight year old woman who acts well, a bit odd. Kit shows up the next day at Jane's office explaining her granddaughters murder, and how she feels that Lou has abducted the twelve year old girl that is in the headlines. She hires Jane to figure it out, and wants Jane to get it accomplished in ten days or less. Will Jane be able to solve the case?
This book had me hooked from the beginning. Jane is a very tough character who likes to smoke and used to drink, because of her past and the demons that haunt her I felt like these habits actually made her seem more realistic.Kit is someone that reminds me of a sixties free spirited hippie, while she has led a very colorful life she blames herself for Ashlee's murder, and the sad thing is so does her daughter. She is now dying of cancer and believes that the cancer was a product of the hate that festered inside her.
After I started reading this book I realized that there was another book titled "Protector" that introduces us to Jane, but the author does a fantastic job of giving us enough background information that you can easily read "Redemption" as a stand alone work.
Jane Perry is a character that I look forward to reading more of, it will be quite interesting to see how the author continues to develop her.
If your looking for a fast paced thriller filled with mystery and suspense then you need to read "Redemption."

About the author:

Laurel Dewey was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the author of two nonfiction books on plant medicine, a Silver Spur nominated Western novella, hundreds of articles, and the first Jane Perry novel, Protector. She lives in Western Colorado with her husband.




To find out more about Laurel and her books visit: http://www.laureldewey.com/