With Red Hands
Encyclopedia
With Red Hands is the second science-fiction alternate history novel by Stephen Woodworth
featuring the "Violet" detective Natalie Lindstrom
. It was written in 2004.
, a Violet who has retired from the job and is working hard to prevent her daughter, Callie, from entering it, examines the case and discovers that the Violet on the stand might be falsifying the postmortem testimony, something previously thought impossible. Natalie's also grappling with her mother, a Violet institutionalized years ago; her mother says she has been visited by the Thresher, a ruthless killer who refuses to stop his ghoulish work even though he has been executed. The separate stories collide by way of the "Needlepoint killer," whose viciousness makes Hannibal Lecter seem like a Sunday School teacher. (1)
Stephen Woodworth
Stephen Woodworth is an American speculative fiction author, and a native of Fullerton, California.- Publications :* "Scary Monsters" , in Writers of the Future VIII * "Relaxation" , in Plot #1...
featuring the "Violet" detective Natalie Lindstrom
Natalie Lindstrom
Natalie Lindstrom is the primary protagonist of a supernatural alternate-history detective series by Stephen Woodworth. A "Violet" with the North American Afterlife Communications Corps, she is one of a small percentage of the population born with purple irises and the ability to channel the dead,...
. It was written in 2004.
Plot summary
Society has accepted the idea that death is not the end, and courtrooms regularly employ Violets to introduce testimony from murder victims. When a teenage boy is put on trial for shooting his wealthy parents, a well-known Violet takes the stand and channels the dead parents to confirm that it was someone other than their son who pulled the trigger. Meanwhile, Natalie LindstromNatalie Lindstrom
Natalie Lindstrom is the primary protagonist of a supernatural alternate-history detective series by Stephen Woodworth. A "Violet" with the North American Afterlife Communications Corps, she is one of a small percentage of the population born with purple irises and the ability to channel the dead,...
, a Violet who has retired from the job and is working hard to prevent her daughter, Callie, from entering it, examines the case and discovers that the Violet on the stand might be falsifying the postmortem testimony, something previously thought impossible. Natalie's also grappling with her mother, a Violet institutionalized years ago; her mother says she has been visited by the Thresher, a ruthless killer who refuses to stop his ghoulish work even though he has been executed. The separate stories collide by way of the "Needlepoint killer," whose viciousness makes Hannibal Lecter seem like a Sunday School teacher. (1)