ANGEL IN THE DARK

After her husband Tim is gunned down at an ATM, Mariana Morgan’s life falls apart. She stops talking to her mother, keeps putting off lunch with her best friend Rachel, moves to the most isolated spot in Los Angeles County, and barely plays with her cats. Her depression deepens when she goes to a psychic, doesn’t understand most of what she’s told, then goes back and becomes part of the circle of New Age devotees who meet once a week for channeling, rainbow meditation, chakra cleansing, tarot readings, and meaningful silences. Bad things happen here, too: Dr. Dan, the sensitive, newly divorced chiropractor, becomes a hit-and-run victim; Karelia, the horoscope caster, turns out to be addicted to an abusive lover; and someone ransacks Don Riley’s emporium, the Aquarian Moon. Mariana worries it might all be her fault. Even though she’s been labeled a natural-born healer, she can’t stop a car crash and a baby dying. Is it her bad karma, or a hidden enemy? A romance with an adult student in an English class she’s teaching brings Mariana back within hailing distance of reality; then, after much discussion of personal responsibility and choice, and insight into the psychic killer from Lulu, the spirit that speaks through tongue-studded Michael, all is revealed. Dain, author of the more hard-boiled p.i. series featuring Freddie O’Neal (Lay It on the Line, not reviewed, etc.), shows genuine insight into racial and cultural prejudice in the classroom discussions. But the crystal-clanking, out-of-body experiences, and thought vibrations will tip off even readers whose Ouija board is in the shop.