The Dark - Hardcover

Dr. Lindy Adair, formerly a university professor and now the owner of 180 glorious acres of Washington woods that once belonged to the Sunstrike commune, is accustomed to strangers on her property. Old residents make their way back every now and then. Lindy usually leaves the wanderers in peace, but one unexpected visitor troubles her.
A teenaged boy stumbles past her home early one morning and falls, thrashing, into a nearby pond. He's been at a moonshine party, Lindy learns. The illegal liquor has left him partially blind and one of his drinking buddies dead.
As the owner of the land that houses the still, Lindy is pulled into the tragedy. The police inquiry is headed by a charismatic newcomer who seems determined to make her a suspect, and the dead boy's parents are pursuing a civil suit that puts nothing less than Lindy's beloved home at stake.
When a second death follows - this one clearly not accidental - it becomes evident that there is even more trouble to come. As Lindy investigates, she uncovers a story of revenge and retribution set against a backdrop of America's breathtaking wilderness.

Carrie Brown is an English professor at Western Washington University.