Patricia Knutson

Shelter of Lies Patricia Knutson

The fear in her eyes matched the desperation in her voice. ?You ain?t going to hardly believe what I?m going to tell you, but I swear it?s true . . . please, Miss Wilson, you got to help me save my boys . . . or she?ll kill them.? This chilling plea from a mysterious, disheveled street woman seductively draws attorney Laura Wilson into a whirlwind of human and legal intrigue and sets in motion a deadly battle between a troubled, vengeful boy and his disarming stepmother, who is either his helpless victim or a psychotic killer. Laura, almost forty, magnetic and ambitious, has fought her way to the top of the highly-charged Family Law profession in the midsize southern city where she lives. She is a hard-driving, high-earning senior partner in her firm, having survived the failure of her own marriage, the sacrosanct ?old boy system,? and the ever-present raw emotional crises of her clients. On a gray and blustery North Carolina morning, Laura is confronted and relentlessly pursued by the enigmatic, homeless Elva, who imparts shocking information that threatens to topple all Laura has scrupulously set in place for herself. Laura is tough and efficient, but certainly not without heart, as she becomes embroiled in a pro bono case representing the downcast woman who is trying to regain custody of her three young sons. Are the boys being horribly mistreated by their sadistic stepmother, as the oldest son states; or are the allegations the imaginings of a mentally ill and dangerous child? Laura and her staff thoroughly investigate each angle, but many questions still remain. It is only after an intense and gut-wrenching trial that the shocking truth is revealed. Laura?s relationships with Archie, her mentor; Kevin, her love interest; and Kim, her assistant and friend, as well as with the distraught mother and emotionally disturbed children, show the many facets of her strong character. Shelter of Lies is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep you guessing until the last electrifying page.