Book ~ "In the Shadow of Revenge" (2013) Patricia Hale

From Goodreads ~ Everybody thought brilliant Cecily would leave dead-end Miller's Falls for something better. But a two-decades-old tragedy locks her in place. Few understand the fierce bond that Cecily and Amelia share with Hilary, who was assaulted one summer as the two other girls watched helplessly. It's a bond of love and guilt…and a desire for vengeance that cuts clear to the bone.

So Assistant DA Cecily Minos waits, eager to see the guy in her courtroom. When Amelia meets a man who has the tattoo the girls remember seeing that day, they think they've finally caught a break. But the police refuse to reopen the case and it's up to Cecily and Amelia to pursue their suspect.

Their investigation soon uncovers secrets best left buried. But the law is slow, and they've waited long enough for revenge….

When Cecily, Amelia and Hilary were nine, they used an old railway car as their clubhouse.  One day Hilary was raped and Cecily and Amelia were forced to watch.  The man was never caught and the three girls were never the same.  Almost twenty years later, Hilary is in and out of rehab, Amelia is promiscuous and Cecily is an assistant DA with a focus on domestic violence cases.  When the rapist comes back to town, Amelia and Cecily do all they can to catch him so they can make him pay for what he did.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and thought it flowed well.  The language is for mature readers.

It is written in first person in Cecily's voice so we know what is happening from her perspective.  Cecily is willing to risk everything, including her job and her relationship with Ben, to bring the rapist to justice and make things right for her friend.  She comes from a broken home ... her mother is a bible freak and her older brother is a bully who can do no wrong in her mother's eyes.

I liked the characters.  Cecily, Amelia and Hilary have been friends forever and will do anything for each other.  Nick, the PI that Cecily hires, is good support for her in helping her get evidence on the rapist.  He knows her from when she was an abused child so understands her.

An interesting twist in this book was the use of a ouija board.  Cecily has visions and sensations that had been passed down from her maternal grandmother (her mother feels it's the devil's influence) when she uses a ouija board.   Plus she finds relief from her guilt in what happened to Hilary all those years ago in a sad but topical way.

I look forward to reading other books by this author.