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Mary Crow #3
Call the Devil by His Oldest Name
Mary Crow is prosecuting a pedophile case in Atlanta when she gets a frantic call from Ruth Moon, pleading for her help. Mary's goddaughter Lily Walkingstick has been abducted from a Native American protest in the East Tennessee mountains. Over the strenuous objections of Mary's new, dictatorial boss, she heads to Tennessee, hoping the whole thing is a huge misunderstanding.
Sadly, Ruth has not called her out on a wild goose chase-Lily was abducted from a PowWow by a Navaho named Joe Little Bear. The local sheriff does a by-the-book search for Lily, though he suspects that the child has been taken by her father, Jonathan Walkingstick, who is currently estranged from his wife. Mary doubts Jonathan would do such a thing, and her doubts are confirmed when strange pictures of Lily start appearing on her cell phone. No ransom demands or political statements appear; just pictures of a squalling baby lying in front of a tombstone.
Gabe Benge, an archeologist who attended the rally, recognizes the first picture. Lily's miles away, lying in front of a famous Cherokee grave. He and Mary race to the site, but find it empty. But suddenly another picture arrives on Mary's phone. Again, it's a place that Gabe recognizes. Someone's taking Lily along the Trail of Tears, he tells Mary.
While Jonathan reunites with the emotionally fragile Ruth, Mary and Gabe follow Lily's trail of photos west, into Nashville, finally to the little town of Franklin. As they do, Mary wonders if this kidnapping isn't about Lily at all, but about her. Could Stump Logan, her oldest enemy and a man the FBI claims is dead, be setting a trap for her? Weaving a web of trickery that will settle a decades-old score? Soon is is up to Mary alone, to find the devil that has destroyed the people she loves, and finally call him by his oldest name.
Sadly, Ruth has not called her out on a wild goose chase-Lily was abducted from a PowWow by a Navaho named Joe Little Bear. The local sheriff does a by-the-book search for Lily, though he suspects that the child has been taken by her father, Jonathan Walkingstick, who is currently estranged from his wife. Mary doubts Jonathan would do such a thing, and her doubts are confirmed when strange pictures of Lily start appearing on her cell phone. No ransom demands or political statements appear; just pictures of a squalling baby lying in front of a tombstone.
Gabe Benge, an archeologist who attended the rally, recognizes the first picture. Lily's miles away, lying in front of a famous Cherokee grave. He and Mary race to the site, but find it empty. But suddenly another picture arrives on Mary's phone. Again, it's a place that Gabe recognizes. Someone's taking Lily along the Trail of Tears, he tells Mary.
While Jonathan reunites with the emotionally fragile Ruth, Mary and Gabe follow Lily's trail of photos west, into Nashville, finally to the little town of Franklin. As they do, Mary wonders if this kidnapping isn't about Lily at all, but about her. Could Stump Logan, her oldest enemy and a man the FBI claims is dead, be setting a trap for her? Weaving a web of trickery that will settle a decades-old score? Soon is is up to Mary alone, to find the devil that has destroyed the people she loves, and finally call him by his oldest name.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 22, 2018
Sometimes you can love someone so deeply that they are the same person as you, as if you share a soul. And sometimes this person is not the best person for you to love, especially when they are married to someone else, and have become a father. Sometimes there are darker things that must be resolved, like the mysterious rape and murder of your mother, and making sure that putting away a man who sold popsicles to children before making them perform sex acts for him is your top priority. This is Mary Crow's dilemma when the Walkingsticks make her their daughter's godmother. It is her dilemma when the Native Americans begin protesting in Tennessee about construction on their ancient burial grounds. But that dilemma erases itself when the Walkingstick's three month old child, Mary's goddaughter Lily, is kidnapped. No longer are her thoughts about the love she has for the child's father, but instead fear for the child's life. Disturbing clues are sent to Mary and the chase leads her to the Cherokee Trail of Tears, where Native American children had been buried in mass graves when they couldn't keep up with the march. The desperation is so high, the actions needed so great, that Mary risks it all to save the baby, offering her reputation, job, love, and even her life to retrieve the closest thing she has to a relative and get the answers she needs to live her life freely. I highly recommend this series!
June 27, 2017
Intense emotions
Sallie Bissell certainly has a way with words. Keeping her protagonist front and center, she takes the reader on an exhilarating ride of action, without losing the tender moments behind. Mary Crow and Jonathan's relationship is impossibly scarred, yet we know they are meant to be together. Lots of unanswered questions...I love it!
Sallie Bissell certainly has a way with words. Keeping her protagonist front and center, she takes the reader on an exhilarating ride of action, without losing the tender moments behind. Mary Crow and Jonathan's relationship is impossibly scarred, yet we know they are meant to be together. Lots of unanswered questions...I love it!
November 13, 2017
First Mary Crow book I have and really enjoyed it. Fast paced, kept me thoroughly interested. Considering picking up more books in the series.
October 4, 2023
Love Sallie Bissell's books. They are all real page turners. The kind of books you can't quit reading, but don't want them to end.
January 21, 2014
This is the third book in Sallie Bissell's Mary Crow series. I read the last book first, not realizing it was a series until it was too late, so I'm starting it with the knowledge of where the characters are now. I am now working my way through the series in order.
In this book, Mary Crow is still an ADA with Deckard County, GA. She is in the middle of a trial, putting away a child pornographer. She has been in therapy (finally!) for all of the events over the last two books, especially as she keeps seeing Stump Logan all around Atlanta, when he's supposed to be dead.
Former flame Jonathan Walkingstick is married to Ruth Moon, who gave birth to their daughter, Lily. Mary is Lily's godmother. Ruth continues her involvement in Native American causes, in which Jonathan is not interested. When Ruth takes their daughter to a rally in Tennessee, the child is kidnapped and Ruth calls Mary when she can't reach Jonathan. Thus, Mary is pulled into the search for her goddaughter.
Point of interest to me: My mother's maternal grandmother was a Benge (which is the last name of do-gooder Gabriel) and there are rumors that we're related to Bob Benge. I have not had a chance to trace it yet, but it would be interesting!
So you know, I have to talk about some things that involve the plot, so...SPOILER ALERT!
Overall, my biggest complaint is that it took Mary until the end of the book to figure out that the reason Stump Logan hated her and her father so much was that he was in love with her mother. Duuuuhhhhhhhh. I figured that out in the first book! Mary, you're a hotshot ADA and you couldn't get that until he TOLD you??????? Implausible.
I think that the book dragged on a bit too long and Jonathan's time in the forest, hiking 15 miles to get a clutch, definitely could have been cut.
That being said, Bissell's writing is still very good and I enjoyed this entry. Of course, having Mary kill Stump Logan was necessary, but I wish he would have been put on trial first. Then at least everyone would have heard his crimes in court.
Recommend.
In this book, Mary Crow is still an ADA with Deckard County, GA. She is in the middle of a trial, putting away a child pornographer. She has been in therapy (finally!) for all of the events over the last two books, especially as she keeps seeing Stump Logan all around Atlanta, when he's supposed to be dead.
Former flame Jonathan Walkingstick is married to Ruth Moon, who gave birth to their daughter, Lily. Mary is Lily's godmother. Ruth continues her involvement in Native American causes, in which Jonathan is not interested. When Ruth takes their daughter to a rally in Tennessee, the child is kidnapped and Ruth calls Mary when she can't reach Jonathan. Thus, Mary is pulled into the search for her goddaughter.
Point of interest to me: My mother's maternal grandmother was a Benge (which is the last name of do-gooder Gabriel) and there are rumors that we're related to Bob Benge. I have not had a chance to trace it yet, but it would be interesting!
So you know, I have to talk about some things that involve the plot, so...SPOILER ALERT!
Overall, my biggest complaint is that it took Mary until the end of the book to figure out that the reason Stump Logan hated her and her father so much was that he was in love with her mother. Duuuuhhhhhhhh. I figured that out in the first book! Mary, you're a hotshot ADA and you couldn't get that until he TOLD you??????? Implausible.
I think that the book dragged on a bit too long and Jonathan's time in the forest, hiking 15 miles to get a clutch, definitely could have been cut.
That being said, Bissell's writing is still very good and I enjoyed this entry. Of course, having Mary kill Stump Logan was necessary, but I wish he would have been put on trial first. Then at least everyone would have heard his crimes in court.
Recommend.
September 29, 2016
A good, but not great, suspense story. Don't get me wrong, I liked it and it kept me guessing up to the last page. This is not a story where you know the main character is going to win. Mary Crow, the main character, is flawed, uncertain, and very relatable. A great character to fall in love with, but somehow lacking the heroic stature I wanted.
The story has a solid foundation, with Mary's goddaughter being kidnapped, and a backstory that slowly unravels through the book. She is forced to chase this monster and the baby while dealing with a angry ex-boyfriend, the crazy mother of the baby, an immature babysitter, and a stranger. More angst than action follows with a couple of notable exceptions. The ending kind of poured out rather than splashed. A very satisfying but not heart-pounding read!
The story has a solid foundation, with Mary's goddaughter being kidnapped, and a backstory that slowly unravels through the book. She is forced to chase this monster and the baby while dealing with a angry ex-boyfriend, the crazy mother of the baby, an immature babysitter, and a stranger. More angst than action follows with a couple of notable exceptions. The ending kind of poured out rather than splashed. A very satisfying but not heart-pounding read!
October 26, 2008
This is the 3rd book in the series of Mary Crow. Quite different than the first two, the Author definitely took this story and stretched it a bit outside the box. There are times where I wanted to set it down for awhile because I wasn't sure where it was going, but by the 11th chapter it was evident as to where it was heading. But after the initial "I knew it" shock, the story dragged and I had a feeling of "I just want this situation to end". Unfortunately Sallie kept the situation going to the bitter end.
February 17, 2015
I love these books and the characters, but this one seemed to have Mary mostly chasing her tale and being more reactive, not as much proactive and not trusting her gut. We meet Stump Logan again and this time he wants to get to Mary so bad that he puts together a diabolical plan that involves her friends, Jonathan and Ruth Walkingstick and their baby, Lily. The story was still good and the Native American history was not overdone. Fortunately there are more in the series and I don't have to wait for them to come out.
November 13, 2009
when i first started the book, i thought perhaps i would just chuck it, but i stuck with it, and it got better. there are several 'bad' characters, one especially evil--stump logan, who isn't dead after all.
mary crow is a good heroine and it says that this is mary crow book 3 so apparently she has had some previous adventures. there is a little bit of cherokee history here--some slight mention of the trail of tears.
mary crow is a good heroine and it says that this is mary crow book 3 so apparently she has had some previous adventures. there is a little bit of cherokee history here--some slight mention of the trail of tears.
January 9, 2012
I thought I'd have a hard time with this as it's third in a series that I've never read. Surprisingly I really enjoyed the thriller. Everything was tied together so neatly with no loose ends. I would like to find the two preceding books to find out how much info us released on Mary Crow's mum and dad.
July 17, 2013
This is the 3rd book in the Mary Crow series. Two very important questions are answered at the end of this book, and there's an event at the end that completely came out of left field that I'm still thinking about. Yowza. Well written and engaging, but there were a few loose threads that I wish had been tied up/mentioned at the end. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining two in the series.
January 24, 2016
Again - a great read. I love following Mary Crow as she moves through her life which is filled with challenge and danger. Yet she remains a hopeful and resilient woman who loves deeply and dives in to save others when she's needed. The entire Mary Crow series is well worth taking time out of a busy life to savor a good story well told!
April 24, 2007
I started reading these because they are set in Atlanta and the mountains in NC. In this book, Mary Crow is called away from a tough case when her ex-boyfriend's Cherokee daughter is kidnapped and police won't help. Stubb Logan is back trying to kill her off again.
April 16, 2009
crazy former sheriff who killed Mary's dad in Vietnam and Mary's mom when she did not share his feelings is after Mary and revenge. He kidnaps Mary's ex boyfriend's baby and Mary leaves a case at pivotal moment to chase after kidnapper. Mary loses job, but kills sheriff and reunites baby with dad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2011
I liked this book. I like the American Indian connection and the location in North Carolina and Eastern Tenn. Could have done without the little twist at the end, but all in all it was okay. Had not read the 1st two books in the series and probably will not.
February 25, 2014
I enjoy all her books. The only bad thing is that you have to read them in order or you lose out on the plot. I know as I have done that. But Mary Crow is a very likable main character. I also like the setting--in the mountains of North Carolina.
January 22, 2016
This is the third book I've read in this series by this author, and again, this was a great book. The books are kind of an easy ready and hard to put down! The thing I liked best about this book was that it had a twist at the end that I didn't find in the other two. A great read!
December 15, 2014
Stump Logan is still chasing Mary Crow who's still in love with Jonathan Walkingstick who's still married to Ruth, but now we know why ...
January 6, 2013
good - easy - read over the holidays - Native American heroine.... may want to read more by Sallie Bissell
July 4, 2013
I'm really enjoying Sallie Bissell's books! This one is good!
December 2, 2015
OH HOW WONDERFUL A STORY!
September 4, 2016
Book sale find. Didn't realize it was part of a series but it wasn't a distraction. I liked the NC setting
Read
December 20, 2014The series was excellent. Office read this.
Want to read
February 6, 2019Synopsis: ADA Mary Crow is obsessed with finding the man who holds the key to two personal tragedies. Then her goddaughter is kidnapped.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews