Aftershock - Andrew Vachss

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

Dell,an ex-Legionnairewas working as amercenary when he firstsawDolly,a nurse withMdecins Sans Frontires.When they later married, Dellabandoned his work, and Dolly shed her identity.But not her calling-she became a teacher, confidant, and defenderofdozens of teenagers in their Coastal Oregon village.Whenthe star softball pitcher guns down a popular boy on the last day of school,Dolly knows this is no"school shooting".She goes all-in to protect"Mighty Mary" McCoy, even to the extent of unleashing her lethal husband.

As Dolly uses her contacts to gain access to medical secrets,Dell returns tohis no-boundaries past. Usingguile, extortion,shadow networks--and,finally, an act of terrorism-he uncoversthe secret MaryLou was willing to sacrifice her own life to protect . . . a soul-killing rite of passage demanded of the town's most vulnerable girls, with her baby sister next on that list.