Justice by Another Name

JUSTICE BY ANOTHER NAME

Set against the backdrop of North Carolina’s powerful hog-producing industry, JUSTICE BY ANOTHER NAME tells the story of Paul Reavis’s suspicious workplace death followed a year later by a senseless death of his young son Paulie. Lana Reavis, who believes her husband was murdered and her son the victim of deliberate negligence, enlists the aid of her long-ago boyfriend, Will Moser, who is currently chief deputy of Hogg County and the heir apparent to the local sheriff. As Will’s investigation unfolds, suspicious activities and cover-ups begin to emerge. All evidence points to Oris Martin, the powerful owner of Martin Farms, a huge hog-production enterprise and Hogg County’s largest employer, as the mastermind. Despite political pressure and physical threats to look the other way, Will continues his search for what really happened. Meanwhile, Lana, convinced that Oris will be beyond the reach of justice, devises a plan to avenge her family and destroy everything precious to Oris Martin.Set against the backdrop of North Carolina’s powerful hog-producing industry, Justice by Another Name, tells the story of Paul Reavis’s suspicious workplace death followed a year later by a senseless death of his young son Paulie. Lana Reavis, who believes her husband was murdered and her son the victim of deliberate negligence, enlists the aid of her long-ago boyfriend, Will Moser, who is currently chief deputy of Hogg County and the heir apparent to the local sheriff. As Will’s investigation unfolds, suspicious activities and cover-ups begin to emerge. All evidence points to Oris Martin, the powerful owner of Martin Farms, a huge hog-production enterprise and Hogg County’s largest employer, as the mastermind. Despite political pressure and physical threats to look the other way, Will continues his search for what really happened. Meanwhile, Lana, convinced that Oris will be beyond the reach of justice, devises a plan to avenge her family and destroy everything precious to Oris Martin.

Eastern North Carolina’s extremely profitable and much-maligned hog industry offers both setting and motive for this suspenseful tale of greed, corruption, and murder, with likable sheriff Will Moser, a damaged war veteran, trying to sort it all out. Hanes has written a humdinger of a novel here, with a fast-moving, well-constructed plot and a big cast of characters so real they will walk right off the page to steal your heart or maybe chase you through the putrid swamps with a loaded gun (Oris, Popper—evil personified). Hanes has got a real genius for scenes, especially dialogue. Nobody writes a better redneck conversation or a lovelier love scene. You better just block out a whole weekend for this one—you won’t be able to put it down. But don’t forget the Kleenex or the Makers Mark….

Lee Smith

author of Dimestore: A Writer’s Life

Redge Hanes’ new novel, Justice by Another Name, set in eastern North Carolina’s fictional Hogg County, opens with a thunderous, unforgettable scene and sustains that throttling pace until its very last sentence. Hanes knows eastern North Carolina—its people, culture, and geography—and renders it with wonderful documentary precision that authenticates every word he writes. He also knows the hog industry, thus it’s inviting to view this gripping novel not only as an indictment of that industry, but a cautionary tale as well. Hanes delivers a roster of truly inspired characters, chief among them Will Moser, a Vietnam veteran lawman, from one of the prominent county families, who finds himself ensnared in local inbred politics and a series of mysterious deaths a little too coincidental to be considered anything but murder. Leavening it all is a complicated love story that ups the ante and the danger with every page you can’t stop turning. Get your hands on Justice by Another Name. You’ll be enthralled.

Joseph Bathanti

North Carolina Poet Laureate (2102-14) and author of The Life of the World to Come