At eighteen, popular Ivy Griffith likes nothing better than getting stoned with her boyfriend, Pete, and his basketball buddies-until one afternoon when a nightmare unfolds. Ivy watches in horror as her boyfriend and his friends murder a teammate and bury his body in a remote location. The four friends make a pact to keep the killing quiet, and Ivy flees her parents' Colorado home for college and never looks back.
Now, after ten years of numbing her guilt with drugs, she's finally clean. The single mom of a seven-year-old son, Montana, Ivy returns home to the tiny town of Jacob's Ear, hoping for courage to reveal the shocking truth of her past and be rid of this baggage forever.
But when disaster strikes at her high school reunion, she's the only one left alive who witnessed that fateful night so long ago...Or is she? Who else could've known about the pact and who would want Pete and his co-conspirators dead? As the investigation heats up and the death toll rises, Ivy is forced to decide if confessing the truth is really worth risking her own life.
Herman’s plots are strong and move stories forward, but her characters are her real strength.| Posted January 08, 2009
Is Ivy Griffith guilty of murder? Or is the fact that she witnessed then conspired to cover up murder a lesser crime?
In her latest release, Ever Present Danger, Kathy Herman brings us a confused high school senior Ivy Griffith, who doesn’t know the difference. She spends ten years trying to numb her guilt with drugs, until she finally comes clean and returns to her hometown of Jacob's Ear, Colorado to make things right.
Knowing her confession will likely lead to a jail sentence, Ivy must allow time for her seven-year-old son, Montana to bond with her parents before she spills the details. But at her ten-year high school reunion, a surprising twist of events puts her plan on hold. Discovering whether Ivy finds the courage to confess her part in the murder and face her punishment will keep you reading until the end.
And I did just that read each and every page. I have to admit that I figured out who did it early on in the story. What you say, did what? You’ll have to read the book to discover that little secret. You don’t want me to spoil the surprise. But even though I was pretty certain how the book would end it didn’t discourage me from reading and enjoying the complete novel.
In the first of her Phantom Hollow series, Herman successfully weaves suspense with a strong family drama. The book begins with great character angst and pain, and some readers might question if it really is a suspense novel. But keep reading as the story takes a sharp turn toward suspense when a surprising sub-plot surfaces and speeds up the page turning. A strong faith message is woven throughout the book reminding all of us that compromise even on the smallest things can lead to downfall.
Herman’s plots are strong and move stories forward, but her characters are her real strength. I’ve never met a character Herman created that I couldn’t identify with or develop strong emotions about, and Ever Present Danger is no exception.
