Perhaps you’ve spotted the purple ribbons, noticed the literature declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month . For fiction fans, domestic violence has become a theme we’re accustomed to seeing. We’ve all read the books, watched the stories play out on our TVs and on movie screens. Our legal system deals with thousands of domestic abuse cases a day; and yet we still feel compelled to explore this issue in a fictional setting.

Which begs the question: is fiction telling us something about domestic violence that the law isn’t? As both a thriller writer and a lawyer who has served as a legal advocate for victims of abuse, I’ve learned that the answer is “yes.”

The legal system can often give a voice to those in need. It can be a symbol of justice, fairness; conjuring images of

See Full Page