Until It's Over
Eighty-three-year-old Sylvia Jensen and investigative reporter J.B. Harrell, whose deep emotional bond spans decades, are at a protest against uranium mining on indigenous land. When U.S. Senate Candidate Anthony Jordane begins to speak, Sylvia lunges at him then collapses in a lifeless heap on the floor. J.B., while keeping vigil at her hospital bedside as she slips in and out of consciousness, becomes certain about two things. A long time ago Anthony Jordane did something terrible and for some reason Sylvia blames herself for what happened. But even after he completes a thorough and deeply personal investigation, Sylvia knows there is more to the story. Until It’s Over shows how early trauma can shape life trajectories, how remembering can heal, and how taking action can transform pain into justice.
Advanced Praise:
Seeped in history and Native American tradition, Dorothy Van Soest's new novel, Until It's Over, draws the reader into a decades-old case involving a Senate candidate whose popular facade masks a sordid past. In a compelling, twisty, and often emotionally wrenching story, journalist J.B. Harrell and his friend Sylvia Jensen uncover what really happened all those years ago--and also come to terms with their own pasts. Definitely worth reading!
—Deborah Kalb, writer, editor, podcaster, book blogger, and author of Everything She
Most Admired, Off to Join the Circus
Dorothy Van Soest’s enthralling new addition to the Sylvia Jensen mysteries, Until It’s Over, is a must-read. When a decades-old crime resurfaces, activist Sylvia Jensen and investigative reporter J.B. Harrell are thrust into a battle where troubling memories, buried secrets, and social injustice collide. This powerful novel of resilience and justice shows how confronting the past can open the way to healing and to change. Until It’s Over is a mystery that is both plausible and haunting. You won’t want to miss this one.
—Terry Korth Fischer, author of The Rory Naysmith Mysteries.
No one combines mystery fiction with social justice issues like Dorothy Van Soest. In Until It’s Over, she wraps up the Sylvia Jensen/J.B. Harrell mysteries in grand style as they reach far back into the very heart of collective and personal trauma to uncover the unsavory past of a would-be U.S. senator. I was rivetted from beginning to end! Brava!
—Carol Mossman, PhD, author of Writing with a Vengeance
The powerful message of Until It’s Over is both timely and timeless. Dorothy Van Soest brings warmth, intelligence, and deep compassion to protagonists who struggle, stumble, and ultimately find the strength to accomplish together what no one could do alone. The book's themes of justice, resilience, and our fragile, essential human bonds resonate long after the last page is turned.
—Amanda Barusch, author of Aging Angry: Making Peace with Rage.
Until It's Over is a powerful testament to the enduring courage of those who find the right moment to confront injustice, regardless of the years that have passed, and holds sacred space until everyone finds their moment. This pivotal novel is a triumph—blending gripping suspense with a resounding call for justice—and a must-read for anyone who believes that nothing is truly over until the truth prevails.
—NoÑ‘l Busch-Armendariz, PhD, Director of The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA) and author of Human Trafficking: Applying Research, Theory, and Case Studies for Social Work and the Helping Professions (2nd edition)
Until It’s Over is Dorothy van Soest's latest installment in the Sylvia Jenson mysteries. From the first pages of Sylvia and J. B. Harrell’s familiar bickering, to the exquisitely elegant, pitch perfect conclusion, this is the work of an author at the top of her craft! Wisely plan your time as to when you will begin reading it, because you will not want to put it down.
— Mary Swigonski, author of Letters from Eleanor Roosevelt, and blog, JustAlchemy.
When Sylvia Jensen refuses to be silenced by a politician with dark secrets, her investigation takes her deep into the past, to the secret springs of guilt, regret, fear and trauma. This exciting tale, full of compassion and psychological insight, gives voice to the victims of injustice.
—B. Morrison, author of the memoir Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother and two
poetry collections, Terrarium and Here at Least.
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I always look forward to Dorothy Van Soest’s next Sylvia Jensen mystery. Sylvia, a retired social worker, and J.B. Harrell, a journalist with a childhood tied to Sylvia, make an exceptional team. In her latest novel, Until It’s Over, Van Soest reminds us that trauma experienced in our childhoods may remain dormant until ignited back into our present consciousness. This story rekindles the lessons of the “personal is political” and demonstrates how the collective voices of women can pursue justice and become a catalyst for resiliency.
—Fran Danis, author of Origin Stories from the Movements to End Domestic Violence
This engaging novel, Until It’s Over, walks us through the way a community heals itself, individually and collectively. By fleshing out several characters, it beautifully deals how, despite trauma, dissociation and the effects of narcissism, people are able to survive and thrive.
—Robin Shapiro, LICSW, author of EMDR Solutions, Easy Ego State Interventions, Doing Psychotherapy, and Trauma Treatment Protocols