Book Review: Crossing the Dark

By Sandy Amazeen Nov 20, 2007, 2:16 GMT

Florida police officer Mona has lived a mother’s worst nightmare during the two weeks her thirteen-year-old daughter Perdita was missing. Through diligent effort, Mona rescued Perdita being held captive in a shack by Cesar, a pimp/thug who had been selling her body while filming the action. In a tense showdown without the backup of her partner Nick, Mona manages to get them both out safely while Cesar eludes the police. After repeated rapes, Perdita’s mental health was shattered and forces Mona to remember her rape as a teenager. To keep Perdita safe from Cesar, Mona moves them in with Les her ex-husband, an insensitive SOB who proceeds to ply his daughter with alcohol while reopening old relationship wounds. Perdita and Mona begin spiraling down into their own personal versions of hell as the criminal justice system allows Cesar to roam free, terrorizing at will. Mona begins working outside the law, jeopardizing her career and any chance of a normal life when she decides to dispense her own brand of justice.

The terse, spare writing style lends a convincing gritty air to this thriller pitting a cop who forgets the boundaries between her job and being a mother against a criminal who knows how to exploit the justice system. Dealing with the hot button issues of rape, exploitation, messy divorce relationships and denial, this is not a comfortable read but readers will be rewarded with the climax that leaves room for individual interpretation.