Let Darkness Come (36 page)
Authors: Angela Hunt
- As you will discover if you search the Internet for information on chimeras, the central concept of this novel is quite real. Did this situation seem far-fetched as you read the story? What do you think about the human soul and where it resides?
- Erin is an abused wife. If you were on the jury, would the history of her marriage make you more or less likely to believe she killed her husband? Would you see the abuse as a reasonâ¦or a defense?
- Angela Hunt reports that she gained a new appreciation for lawyers while working on this book. Despite the popularity of television legal dramas, the art of examining a witness is complicated. Did your appreciation for lawyers change after reading this novel?
- Briley is a good lawyer, but at the beginning of the story she wants to maintain a careful emotional distance from her client. What happens to convince her to begin to bridge that gap? How is she different at the end of the story?
- Erin also changes over the course of the book. If she remarries, what sort of man do you think she will choose?
- Why do you think Briley is attracted to Timothy Shackelford?
- Do you think Briley will be more or less happy working in the prosecutor's office?
- What were some of the themes in the novel? Are these themes relevant to your life? A year from now, will this story still resonate with you? Why or why not?
- Would you say this novel is plot-driven (the plot moving the characters forward) or character-driven (the characters driving the plot)? What were the turning points for each of the major characters, and what might have happened if they had chosen the opposite path?
- With which characterâBriley or Erinâdo you most identify, and why? How did their histories make them into the women they are? How will their lives influence each other's in the future?
- Could this story have worked in another setting? Why do you think the author chose to set the novel in Chicago?
- Have you read other novels by Angela Hunt? How does this novel echo themes in her other works? How does it differ?
No novelist writes alone, and I'd like to acknowledge the valuable assistance provided by the following people: police detective Mark Mynheir; attorneys Randy Singer, Jacob Radcliff, Ron Benrey, Cara Putman, James Scott Bell, Rick Acker, Jim Stamos, and Michael Garnier; forensic psychologist Dr. V. Gregory; the Cook County Sheriff's Department; and Traci Depree, Amy Wallace, Gaynel Senka, and Annette Smith. If it looks like I practically tackled every lawyer who crossed my path while I was working on this novel, it's true. An extra-special thank-you to Michael Garnier, who suffered through a rough draft and spent several hours pointing my lawyers toward solid legal ground. If Briley, Bystrowski, or Judge Trask have done anything that's not by the book, you may blame their irascible natures or my penchant for drama.
The following books were also helpful:
Black, Roy.
Black's Law: A Criminal Lawyer Reveals His Defense Strategies in Four Cliffhanger Cases
. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Davis, Kevin.
Defending the Damned: Inside Chicago's Cook County Public Defender's Office
. New York, NY: Atria Books, 2007.
Geberth, Vernon J.
Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques
. Fourth Edition. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2006.
Grace, Nancy, with Diane Clehane.
Objection! How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a
24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System
. New York, NY: Hyperion, 2005.
Haddock, Deborah Bray.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Sourcebook
. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2001.
Low, Peter W.
Criminal Law
. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1984.
McElhaney, James W.
McElhaney's Trial Notebook
. Third Edition. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 1994.
Mullally, David S.
Order in the Court: A Writer's Guide to the Legal System
. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 2000.
Stevens, Serita Deborah, with Anne Klarner.
Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons.
Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 1990.
Wilson, James Q.
Moral Judgment: Does the Abuse Excuse Threaten Our Legal System
. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1997.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-0159-3
LET DARKNESS COME
Copyright © 2009 by Angela Elwell Hunt.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
