Sharp characters in an enjoyable supernatural tale, though the corresponding mystery falls short.
A detective who’s an angel/human hybrid falls for a mortal woman while pursuing a serial killer in this paranormal suspense novel by Delehanty, whose earlier books include The White Trash Chronicles (2018).
Detective Michael Simon is one of the Nephilim, the son of archangel Michael and mortal Hilda, who died centuries ago. In present-day New York City, Michael is investigating a series of homicides. Each of the seven victims was a young woman attending a local college and part of the same scholarship program. Michael believes the remaining women in the program are potential victims, but he’s fascinated by one in particular, Isabel, called Isabella earlier in the book. The two have a mutual attraction, and Michael takes Isabel to his home for protection. Though he has an ability to sense evil, this serial killer is unusually hard to find. Michael surmises that another of the Nephilim is blocking his efforts to track down the murderer. But it’s evident he’s facing a demon spawn and, he soon learns, his or her sinister allies as well. Michael rallies a few of his angelic friends and his immortal father for what promises to be a harrowing battle. Meanwhile, he struggles to ensure Isabel’s safety as the couple’s steamy physical entanglements turn into a much deeper connection. Delehanty develops her characters well. Along with powerful angels and Nephilim, there’s Isabel, who has a revealing backstory, and Michael’s capable human cousin, Roarke O’Connell. Michael and Isabel’s instantaneous bond leads to several memorable sex scenes of the erotica variety. Supernatural elements throughout the novel shine, from perusing others’ minds to, of course, winged flight. Unfortunately, the murder mystery is unconvincing, as much of what unfolds leaves too many questions unanswered. These include why police protective custody doesn’t prevent further homicides; when exactly the FBI joins the case; and why Michael acts in certain ways. Nevertheless, the ending is solid, offering both resolution and a lingering uncertainty that sets up a sequel to this first installment in a planned series.
Sharp characters in an enjoyable supernatural tale, though the corresponding mystery falls short.Pub Date: April 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5453-2487-5
Page Count: 312
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It's almost enough to make a person believe in ghosts.
A disturbing household secret has far-reaching consequences in this dark, unusual ghost story.
Mallory Quinn, fresh out of rehab and recovering from a recent tragedy, has taken a job as a nanny for an affluent couple living in the upscale suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey, when a series of strange events start to make her (and her employers) question her own sanity. Teddy, the precocious and shy 5-year-old boy she's charged with watching, seems to be haunted by a ghost who channels his body to draw pictures that are far too complex and well formed for such a young child. At first, these drawings are rather typical: rabbits, hot air balloons, trees. But then the illustrations take a dark turn, showcasing the details of a gruesome murder; the inclusion of the drawings, which start out as stick figures and grow increasingly more disturbing and sophisticated, brings the reader right into the story. With the help of an attractive young gardener and a psychic neighbor and using only the drawings as clues, Mallory must solve the mystery of the house's grizzly past before it's too late. Rekulak does a great job with character development: Mallory, who narrates in the first person, has an engaging voice; the Maxwells' slightly overbearing parenting style and passive-aggressive quips feel very familiar; and Teddy is so three-dimensional that he sometimes feels like a real child.
It's almost enough to make a person believe in ghosts.Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-81934-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you’re new to him.
The master of supernatural disaster returns with four horror-laced novellas.
The protagonist of the title story, Holly Gibney, is by King’s own admission one of his most beloved characters, a “quirky walk-on” who quickly found herself at the center of some very unpleasant goings-on in End of Watch, Mr. Mercedes, and The Outsider. The insect-licious proceedings of the last are revisited, most yuckily, while some of King’s favorite conceits turn up: What happens if the dead are never really dead but instead show up generation after generation, occupying different bodies but most certainly exercising their same old mean-spirited voodoo? It won’t please TV journalists to know that the shape-shifting bad guys in that title story just happen to be on-the-ground reporters who turn up at very ugly disasters—and even cause them, albeit many decades apart. Think Jack Torrance in that photo at the end of The Shining, and you’ve got the general idea. “Only a coincidence, Holly thinks, but a chill shivers through her just the same,” King writes, “and once again she thinks of how there may be forces in this world moving people as they will, like men (and women) on a chessboard.” In the careful-what-you-wish-for department, Rat is one of those meta-referential things King enjoys: There are the usual hallucinatory doings, a destiny-altering rodent, and of course a writer protagonist who makes a deal with the devil for success that he thinks will outsmart the fates. No such luck, of course. Perhaps the most troubling story is the first, which may cause iPhone owners to rethink their purchases. King has gone a far piece from the killer clowns and vampires of old, with his monsters and monstrosities taking on far more quotidian forms—which makes them all the scarier.
Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you’re new to him.Pub Date: April 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9821-3797-7
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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