Prayer of Prey.

In his sophomore novel, Prayer of Prey, Chicago-based writer Tony Lindsay introduces readers to a complex character who stops at nothing to exact sweet revenge. Doriann and Camille are two black women living in the small, backwards town of Pickney, Ohio. The two women are lovers and cause a stir among the townspeople with their open display of affection towards one another. Eventually, Camille is brutally raped by a raging, out-of-control gang of men. Camille becomes pregnant as a result of the rape and gives birth to twin girls, but she dies during childbirth. Doriann, outraged and saddened by the loss, considers murdering the infants, but instead decides to abandon them and plan her retaliation on the men responsible for the death of her lover.

Prayer of Prey starts off with a bang and quickly engages the reader with the scintillating story of the two lovers. However, the story line later digresses and becomes confusing and cryptic. While Lindsay made a big splash last year with his artfully written first novel, One Dead Preacher, unfortunately his latest literary effort lacks the style and a plausible story line compared to his earlier work.

--Glenn Townes is a New Jersey-based journalist and frequent contributor to BIBR.