With Red Hands

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Summary: With Red Hands by Stephen Woodworth
Review: With Red Hands continues the story of the Violets, people with violet colored pupils who can channel dead souls, and one violet in particular, Natalie.
The book, the second in what promises to be a very unique series, was impossible for me to put down. I could not go to bed before finishing it. It includes courtroom drama, a demented serial killer, personal torments that we can only begin to imagine, corruption, heroes and villians both living and dead. It also has a governmental organization with some sinister overtones that trains and controls the violets.
Bravo...I look forward to the next...


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Summary: refreshingly chilling thriller
Review: A Violet can store the spirit of a former living being so they are used in the courts when they summon the spirit of the victim and have them tell the jury who killed them. This is scientifically proven by the soul scan man which shows when the spirit enters the human violet. Natalie Lindstrom once worked for the victims under the auspices of the North American Afterlife Communication Corps but after toiling with the dark minds of murderers, she burned out and decided to go freelance.

The NAACC wants Natalie back and also want to take her daughter Callie away from her to place the child in a special school so she can grow up to be a functioning Violet. They are waiting for Natalie to make a mistake so they can gain custody of Callie; Natalie tries to get them to lose interest in her family. She becomes interested in a murder trial where she is sure the Violet is lying; something that most people thought was impossible due to the soul scan. The spirit that inhabits the Violet is the same one that caused Natalie's mother to go insane and she is at a loss trying to get the apparition to vacate this plane permanently.

The sequel to THROUGH VIOLET EYES proves that the author is no one book wonder. This chilling thriller will keep the audience entertained as they hope that a way can be found to banish the evil spirit. Stephen Woodworth has had one of the most original ideas in decades and incorporated it into this storyline, making with RED HANDS a refreshingly unique yet well written tale that is the ultimate in speculative fiction.

Harriet Klausner


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Summary: glued to the pages
Review: I hadn't read the first of these books but this one was a great
thriller. I was glued to the pages and couldn't put it down. I guess now I will have the read the first one "Through Violet Eyes" and then wait until 2006 for the next Natalie Lundstrom
character to return.

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Summary: Could not put this down!!
Review: I read this book in one day! I really enjoyed Through Violet Eyes, but Stephen Woodworth is only getting better. Loved this book! Vincent Thresher is scary as hell. Looking forward to the next one!

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Summary: Suspense and Surprises--Even Better Than the First Book!
Review: In his best-selling debut, "Through Violet Eyes," Stephen Woodworth introduced readers to the world of the Violets, the few people born to each generation who possess violet eyes and an ability to communicate with the dead. In "With Red Hands," the second in the Violet series, Woodworth proves that his unique world is one that becomes even more exciting as he delves into its vast potential.

The gifted and beautiful Violet Natalie Lindstrom returns as the central character of this novel. Nearly six years after breaking with the government agency that exploited her abilities for so long, Natalie struggles to support herself and her five-year-old daughter, Callie, who is also a Violet. Though estranged from the rest of her family and harassed daily by government-surveillance goons, Natalie perseveres-until her involvement in a murder trial threatens to take away everything she's worked so hard to keep.

Suspense and mystery fans will delight in the near-perfect plot, which features Natalie getting involved as a secret consultant in the murder trial of Scott Hyland, a seventeen-year-old boy accused of killing his parents. Along the way, Natalie discovers that the testimony of the victims is not all it should be. This discovery leads her to the heart of her worst childhood nightmare-and could result in the destruction of the family she never knew she loved so much.

As with the first book, this one is written in an easy-to-read, highly visual style that has the reader racing breathlessly through the story, almost like watching a film. The book takes on added depth, though, as the action affects various family relationships-Natalie's, accused murderer Scott Hyland's, and even those of the man who she hoped was only a bad dream.

Woodworth is a first-rate writer who knows what readers want: page-turning suspense, likable characters, situations that are fantastic and yet startlingly close to our own realities. His books have that "can't put it down" quality characteristic of the best fiction meisters. I can't wait to see what Woodworth has in store for us the third time around!


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Summary: REMARKABLY GOOD SERIES
Review: The Violets in Woodworth's second book continue to bring the reader a unique blend of terror, science and ghostly goings on. Violet Natalie Lindstrom has retired since last we met her, and she has a young daughter, Callie, the offspring of Natalie's now deceased lover, Dan. Dan was a cop who was killed in the first book before he could meet his daughter. Woodworth uses the Violet's ability to communicate with the dead effectively in the relationship between Dan, Natalie and their daughter. But what works so well is Woodworth's ability to integrate this personal tragedy, along with Natalie's own parents, into a spinetingling tale of the return of a horrifying serial killer known as the Thresher, who was executed based on testimony given by Natalie's mother, also a Violet. The governmental agency that virtually imprisons Violets is also a demonic presence in this well written thriller. Woodworth builds the suspense and thrills without sacrificing credibility or character development; in the world of the Violets, anything is possible. Also the inclusion of the "bad" violet and smug Scott Hyland, the parent killer, is also intriguing.
An excellent read; looking forward to more adventures with the Violets.

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Summary: Read in One Day
Review: This author has created characters we care about which I think will be the key to this series. While I don't think the plot was as good as the 1st book in the series, this book still kept me reading all day long. Now I'm sorry because the next one isn't due until Spring 2006! Oh well -- it was a fun ride.