THE CODE OF THE HILLS: An Ozark Mystery by Nancy Allen!

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thriller 
Published by: Witness Impulse 
Publication Date: April 15, 2014 
Number of Pages: 400 
ISBN: 9780062325945 

Purchase Links:   

“I was absolutely engrossed by this first rate novel…I wanted Elsie to win so much it hurt. A truly marvelous debut…I would love to read more. ”
—Frances Fyfield.

Former prosecutor Nancy Allen, from the hills of the Ozarks herself, writes a disturbingly realistic portrayal of sexual crimes towards women and children– and how they are handled in court – in her powerful debut, THE CODE OF THE HILLS (Witness Impulse; April 15, 2014; $2.99 ebook original). Inspired by her own experiences, Allen tells the remarkable story of one woman’s quest for not only criminal justice, but for a change in culture within her community. 

In the Missouri Ozarks, some things aren’t talked about…even if it’s abuse. Prosecutor Elsie Arnold is determined to change that.

When she is assigned a high-profile incest case in which a father accused of abusing his three young daughters, Elsie is ready to become the Ozarks’ avenging angel.  However, things quickly go sour. The star witness goes missing, the girls refuse to talk about their father, and Elsie begins to suspect their tough-as-nails mother has ulterior motives. To make matters worse, Elsie receives gruesome threats from local extremists, warning her to mind her own business.  While Elsie swears not to let a sex offender walk, she realizes the odds – and maybe the town – are against her. Amidst all of the conflict, the safety of three young girls hangs in the balance... 

NANCY ALLEN is a member of the law faculty in the College of Business at Missouri State University. She practiced law for 15 years, serving as Assistant Missouri Attorney General and as Assistant Prosecutor in her native Ozarks. When Nancy began her term as prosecutor, she was only the second woman in Southwest Missouri to serve in that capacity. During her years in prosecution, she tried over 30 jury trials, including murder and sexual offenses, and she served on the Rape Crisis Board and the child protection team of the Child Advocacy Council. THE CODE OF THE HILLS is her first novel.