A Case Of Wild Justice? by Yvonne Jerrold

Sir Francis Bacon once said, "Revenge is a kind of wild justice which, the more a man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out." In Yvonne Jerrold's novel, A Case Of Wild Justice?, this question of when revenge is justifiable, if ever, is explored.

In Hannah Meadow's neighborhood, old people are being victimized and terrorized by gangs of young boys. Both Hannah and her sister have been victims, along with many of their friends. Hannah was burglerized, surprising the burgler in the act. Her sister, Jessie, had an even worse encounter. Her garden, the product of years of hard work, had been vandalized and ruined by a gang of youngsters that Jessie had befriended and thought loved her. Now she is a recluse in her own house, refusing to come out and face the world that has turned on her. Others in their circle have had graffiti written on their walls, or were shoved in the street, cursed at, or even beaten up. Even worse for Hannah, one of the ringleaders of the gang is her grandson, Billy. She feels rage and guilt at this relationship at the same time and wonders what she should do.

The "silver bees" show her their solution. They are a group of elderly people who have tired of being victims and are determined to change their neighborhood back to a safe one. They adopt the tactics of terrorist suicide bombers. When attacked, they set off bombs they are wearing and kill themselves to insure that they are killing their attackers. There are several instances of these individuals taking matters into their own hands and setting off bombs that kill those who attack them. This tactic creates a huge controversy. For every person who condemns the silver bees, there is an advocate who insists they are being driven to such desparate measures. Hannah is drawn into their circle, although she isn't sure if she could ever carry out such an operation. The book explores her thought processes as she tries to determine what is right and what she is willing to do to end her feelings of persecution.

Jerrold has done an excellent job of portraying the helplessness that older people can feel, and how quickly a gang of toughs can victimize an entire neighborhood. Readers of mysteries and suspence novels will find this book well worth their time.