Forcing Amaryllis

I, like some others, have to say up front that I know Louise personally from a writing group. While I never got to hear the ending during my time in the group, she had me hooked immediately. Louise really hits the mark and all the well-derserved accolades contain no hype. No lulls in this read. It's delightfuly scary and wonderfully clever. I visited Tuscon for the first time last January and since reading her book, I feel like I have lived there. This book will be gifted to many appreciative friends.

Calla Gentry bears the emotional scars of her sister Amy's brutal rape and subsequent suicide attempt seven years prior. When Calla is forced to serve as a trial consultant for rape/murder defendant Raymond Cates, she discovers horrifying similarities between the case and her sister's attack. FORCING AMARYLLIS follows Calla through the Arizona desert in her quest for justice and healing. Although this is Louise Ure's first novel, you would never know it. She writes like a seasoned pro. The well-crafted plot, tight prose, and strong characters kept me glued to every page. And the climax left me breathless. I look forward to reading more from the talented Ms. Ure.

The last time I was so excited about a first-time mystery writer, I was reading Jonathon King's The Blue Edge of Midnight, which went on to win the Edgar Award for best first novel. Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure is a powerful novel, with a fascinating protagonist. Calla Gentry is a trail consultant in Tucson, a woman who only served as a consultant on civil cases because she was afraid to deal with criminal cases. Seven years earlier, Gentry had been a strong woman who worked in advertising. But, that was before her sister's brutal rape at knife point. Calla lost her sister, Amaryllis, when her failed suicide attempt put her in a coma. Calla also lost her own confidence and sense of security. Amaryllis' rape incapacitated Calla so much that their aunt told Calla she needed to take her life back. She told her, "Just like Amy. It's a life of suspended animation." When Calla's boss forces her to take on a rape/murder case, she is struck by the similarities between that case and her own sister's. Together with two friends and a private investigator, Calla attempts to link other rapes with Amaryllis'. The descriptions of the rapes, although not graphic, are not easy to read. The jury selection process in the book, and the trial itself are fascinating. But, it is the change in Calla's character, as she forces herself to move out of her safe surroundings, that is the most fascinating. Give Calla a chance. In my opinion, Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure deserves to be nominated for this year's Edgar for best first mystery.

In Tucson, Arizona, Jessica Marley, owner of Marley & Partners Trial Consultant informs employee Calla Gentry she will consult on a criminal case since one of their associates did the unfathomed misdeed of giving birth three weeks early. Calla objects as she only does civil matters, but Jessica overrules her. Calla needs this job to pay for the care of her comatose sister Amaryllis, a victim of rape and assault seven years ago; her sibling's attack is why Calla detests criminal cases. Attorney Kevin McCullough explains to Calla that the state accuses his client wealthy Raymond Cates of sexually assaulting and killing Lydia Chavez; but he has an alibi, a family ranch hand Salsispuedes affirms they were drinking at the time of the attack. Calla thinks the Chavez rape-murder is similar to that of her sibling; when she meets Cates, he wonders if they met before and she notices his cut off finger. She ponders could he have confused her for her sister and the finger fits the little her sibling mentioned before going into a coma. Though there is a conflict of interest, Calla makes inquiries with private investigator Anthony Strike who ishelping her. FORCING AMARYLLIS is an awesome legal thriller that showcases how the rich can afford a high priced specialized defense team (think of the OJ case) as specialists like Strike, Gentry, and a DNA expert are not cheap; attorneys are not enough. The story line digs deep into what goes on behind the scenes of a defense team while also following Calla's amateur sleuth investigation. Reminiscent of Rankin Fitch's squad in RUNAWAY JURY, FORCING AMARYLLIS is a fabulous look at the cost of American justice that like most things can be bought. Harriet Klausner

My wife and I were asked - implored actually, by someone who had read an advance copy to have a look at this novel by first time author Louise Ure. Neither of us has historically had much interest in the suspense or mystery book genre, but we concluded after finishing Forcing Amaryllis that, if this is what constitutes a good thriller you can sign us up for more. Ms. Ure has crafted her story so cleverly and with such astounding attention to physical detail that it took our breath away. Cormac McCarthy, with his desert trilogy including All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and Cities on the Plain, may have laid the definitive groundwork for an authentic southwestern voice in literature, but Forcing Amaryllis certainly lends a new tenor to that theme. The plot traverses the Tucson, Arizona environs with a kind of contemporary examination that only someone who has lived there can bring to the page. In one chapter, the protagonist Calla Gentry has come home to her meager bungalow in the heat of late afternoon. She has set about cooking a typical Mexazona dinner for her friend since high school and as they sit on the back porch sipping wine and discussing the events of the day the reader can literally feel the moisture from the misting nozzles and know what the two smell like when they sweat. It's one of the sweet moments in a complicated fiction of love, violence and death. Yes, there is murder, rape and torture by someone who may or may not be the man Calla has been called upon to help defend in her capacity as a jury selection analyst. There is also an intense undercurrent of emotional conflict, danger and self-doubt. Ms. Ure brings a fresh perspective to her narrative on virtually every page and left both of us feeling that the real mystery was how she managed to do it so successfully with her first-ever novel.