New Suspenseful Mystery Novel Pitting Good Versus Evil In Modern Day Society

Feb. 12, 2013 - PRLog -- New Suspenseful Mystery Novel Pitting Good Versus Evil In Modern Day Society

Author, Cynthia Hearne Darling is pleased to announce the release of her suspenseful mystery novel, Shunned: Outcasts in the Land.

Shunned is like Pandora's box, only with a better ending. Out come the evil vultures of the drug industry, flapping their wing, waiting to grab you. Next, watch in dismay as the community ostracizes a good couple, shrouding them from others. Then, when think things couldn't be worse, comes the specter of Hell and punishment, and lastly, murder -- murder in its most evil form, attacking all that fights it. It's the old story of good against evil.

Amos, a small town minister in New England, is horrified. His wife Carrie has been jailed for vandalism against Jett Pharmaceuticals, her retaliation for their son John's death by a drug overdose. Amos's own reaction to his son's death is to speak prophetically on Hell and punishment through preaching and conducting public meetings. Public reaction is fierce and unforgiving against the couple Released from jail, Carrie forms a group, including skeptic Allan, CEO of Jett, to expose harms caused by antidepressants. She also confronts Dr. Monroe, John's university counselor, who engineered the boy's death. He is infuriated and threatened by Carrie. Monroe schemes to punish Carrie by killing Amos, arranging for him to come to his office to retrieve John's falsified records, that state that their son's death was caused by the parents' fundamentalist lifestyle. Carrie, devastated at her husband's death, puts roses in her dead husband's hands at the funeral, as he had done for her outside the jail upon her release. Monroe sends his grossly obese wife Nellie on a cruise, but she confronts him about Amos's death upon her return. He decides to kill her also, planning the murder with delight and great precision. Meanwhile, Carrie learns that Nellie may have information to sell regarding Amos's murder. Allan, now a suspect in Amos's death, decides to approach Nellie himself. He drives to the house, followed by the police. He hears screams within the house. Nellie has Monroe in a death grip. The police arrive. Allan is exonerated. Monroe becomes psychotic, now locked in a mental institution. Carrie and Allan remain friends. Old Mrs. Robbins, the town's eccentric, hands Carrie a rose. The cycle is complete, she says. Carrie understands. She tells Allan he has to reread Hawthorne to understand.

Shunned's roots lie in The Scarlet Letter and Sinclair's The Jungle, a model for muckraking against the powerful antidepressant industry.

Amazon.com readers are calling the book, “Fact or Fiction? An Absolute Must-Read!” “Hugely Satisfying Mystery”

“A "cannot put down" novel and thriller in one” and “Terrific.”

Book Details:

Shunned: Outcasts in the Land

Author: Cynthia Hearne Darling

Publisher: CreateSpace

ISBN: 978-1479114474

Published: August 2012

Pages: 156

About the Author:

Cynthia Hearne Darling has a BA in English and a master's degree in social work and public administration. She worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for many years. She has an intimate knowledge of church affairs and a love of mysteries as well as Biblical knowledge. She has worked in mental institutions, Indian reservations and the government. Cynthia Darling has received several poetry awards for her poem Mississippi Mother from her book of poetry entitled Forty-Nine Poems. She is presently working on a novel about 1960’s Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

For more information, review copies, or interviews please contact the author at:

Cynthia Hearne Darling

Email: cynthiadarling@cox.net

Website: http://www.shunnedmybook.com

Shunned is available for purchase online through the author's website, from the publisher, Amazon.com, BN.com, and other online retailers. Bookstores should contact Ingram for wholesale orders.