Fans of historical fiction will devour this complex portrait of a brilliant and trailblazing genius and the price she paid to advance the frontiers of science.”
—Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of Our Woman in Moscow
The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie!
She changed the world with her discovery. Three men took the credit.
Rosalind Franklin has always been an outsider—brilliant, but different. Whether working at the laboratory she adored in Paris or toiling at a university in London, she feels closest to the science, those unchanging laws of physics and chemistry that guide her experiments. When she is assigned to work on DNA, she believes she can unearth its secrets.
Rosalind knows if she just takes one more X-ray picture—one more after thousands—she can unlock the building blocks of life. Never again will she have to listen to her colleagues complain about her, especially Maurice Wilkins who’d rather conspire about genetics with James Watson and Francis Crick than work alongside her.
Then it finally happens—the double helix structure of DNA reveals itself to her with perfect clarity. But what unfolds next, Rosalind could have never predicted.
Marie Benedict’s powerful new novel shines a light on a woman who sacrificed her life to discover the nature of our very DNA, a woman whose world-changing contributions were hidden by the men around her but whose relentless drive advanced our understanding of humankind.
Review
Rosalind is a woman scientist in a man’s world. She has struggled through her life fighting against the mainstream. However, Rosalind is determined to show the world what she can do! She knows she can find the building blocks of life and what makes all of us tick! And she believes nothing is going to stop her…until she gets cancer.
This is not my favorite book by this author. This story just drags in places. But, I did enjoy the science. I always do. I wrote a term paper in college about some of the types of the X-rays discussed in this story. So, parts of this did feel a bit like a text book. However, Marie Benedict always has a woman with a backbone as her main character. This is why I always enjoy her books. And Rosalind is a woman everyone needs to read about and learn from.
Need a book about a strong woman…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
In a snowstorm, the safest place is home. Or is it?
True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.
As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. How long had the child been there? Where did he come from? Bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.
Author Bio
Heather Gudenkauf is the critically acclaimed author of several novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Weight of Silence. She lives in Iowa with her husband and children.
“Maybe we can go outside and play?” the girl said as she peeked around the edge of the heavy curtain that covered the window. The sky was gray and soft drops of rain tapped at the glass. “Not today,” her mother said. “It’s raining and we’d melt.” The girl gave a little laugh and then hopped off the chair she had dragged beneath the window. She knew her mother was teasing. They wouldn’t actually melt if they went out in the rain, but still, it made her shiver thinking about it—stepping outside and feeling the plop of water on your skin and watching it melt away like an ice cube. Instead, the girl and her mother spent the morning at the card table cutting pink, purple, and green egg shapes from construction paper and embellishing them with polka dots and stripes. On one oval, her mother drew eyes and a pointy little orange beak. Her mother laid the girl’s hands on a piece of yellow paper and traced around them using a pencil. “Watch,” she said as she cut out the handprints and then glued them to the back of one of the ovals. “It’s a bird,” the girl said with delight. “An Easter chick,” her mother said. “I made these when I was your age.” Together, they carefully taped the eggs and chicks and bunny rab-bits they created to the cement walls, giving the dim room a festive, springy look. “There, now we’re ready for the Easter Bunny,” her mother said with triumph. That night, when the girl climbed into bed, the butterflies in her stomach kept chasing sleep away. “Stay still,” her mother kept re-minding her. “You’ll fall asleep faster.” The girl didn’t think that was true, but then she opened her eyes, a sliver of bright sunshine was peeking around the shade, and the girl knew that morning had finally arrived. She leaped from bed to find her mother already at the tiny round table where they ate their meals. “Did he come?” the girl asked, tucking her long brown hair behind her ears. “Of course he did,” her mother said, holding out a basket woven together from strips of colored paper. It was small, fitting into the palm of the girl’s hand, but sweet. Inside were little bits of green paper that were cut to look like grass. On top of this was a pack of cinnamon gum and two watermelon Jolly Ranchers. The girl smiled though disappointment surged through her. She’d been hoping for a chocolate bunny or one of those candy eggs that oozed yellow when you broke it open. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank the Easter Bunny,” her mother said.
An American documentarian travels a haunted highway across the frozen tundra of Siberia in New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden’s Road of Bones, a “tightly wound, atmospheric, and creepy as hell” (Stephen King) supernatural thriller.
Surrounded by barren trees in a snow-covered wilderness with a dim, dusky sky forever overhead, Siberia’s Kolyma Highway is 1200 miles of gravel packed permafrost within driving distance of the Arctic Circle. A narrow path where drivers face such challenging conditions as icy surfaces, limited visibility, and an average temperature of sixty degrees below zero, fatal car accidents are common.
But motorists are not the only victims of the highway. Known as the Road of Bones, it is a massive graveyard for the former Soviet Union’s gulag prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of people worked to death and left where their bodies fell, consumed by the frozen elements and plowed beneath the permafrost road.
Fascinated by the history, documentary producer Felix “Teig” Teigland is in Russia to drive the highway, envisioning a new series capturing Life and Death on the Road of Bones with a ride to the town of Akhust, “the coldest place on Earth”, collecting ghost stories and local legends along the way. Only, when Teig and his team reach their destination, they find an abandoned town, save one catatonic nine-year-old girl—and a pack of predatory wolves, faster and smarter than any wild animals should be.
Pursued by the otherworldly beasts, Teig’s companions confront even more uncanny and inexplicable phenomena along the Road of Bones, as if the ghosts of Stalin’s victims were haunting them. It is a harrowing journey that will push Teig beyond endurance and force him to confront the sins of his past.
Review
A highway in northern Siberia called the Road of Bones (Look it up!) has fascinated documentary producer, Felix Tiegland. He wants to create a new tv series about life in this part of the world. This is the coldest place on earth and it is full of ghost stories and local legends. So, he has plenty to work with. But, when he reaches a town completely deserted except for one little girl, this trip turns out to be much more than he ever anticipated.
Wow! This was not at all what I was expecting. Now, this is not my usual genre. I usually don’t go for this. However, since I never read the blurb, I am almost positive I saw that it was set in Siberia and it had a shaman. That is all it took! That being said, I am sure it would be a five star read for some of you! Because is sure did keep me on the edge of my seat. And dang near scared me to death!
I almost read this in one sitting. I mean…I had to finish it before the sun went down. 😂. I loved the history about the Road of Bones and about life in that part of the world. Very unique indeed! Just disregard the beasts which eat people!
Need a good horror story which will keep you up at night! THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.
A Good Morning America “January Book That Can Get Us Through Anything”
A Most Anticipated Novel of 2022 by The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly, PopSugar, Shondaland, Yahoo!, and Crime Reads
A destitute woman deceives her way into the guesthouse of a Hollywood Hills mansion and inadvertently becomes a target in the twisted game of the wealthy family upstairs in the next intoxicating novel from Eliza Jane Brazier.
Lyla has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband, Graham, takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspires to ruin their lives. After all, there is nothing worse than a bootstrapper.
Demi has always felt like the odds were stacked against her. At the end of her rope, she seizes a risky opportunity to take over another person’s life and unwittingly becomes the subject of the upstairs couple’s wicked entertainment. But Demi has been struggling forever, and she’s not about to go down without a fight.
In a twist that neither woman sees coming, the game quickly devolves into chaos and rockets toward an explosive conclusion.
Because every good rich person knows: In money and in life, it’s winner take all. Even if you have to leave a few bodies behind.
Excerpt
GOOD RICH PEOPLE by Eliza Jane Brazier
Berkley Hardcover | On sale: January 25, 2022
LYLA
I get so bored sometimes, I think I will do anything to stop it. I decide to make Graham dinner. He blames me for what happened.
We don’t have anything in the kitchen except Mo‘t-dozens and dozens of bottles that Graham’s mother, Margo, keeps giving us, daring us to celebrate.
I decide to make spaghetti because it’s European and I think I can manage it on my own. The housekeeper got spooked and left, so we’ve been ordering in. I need to hire someone before Margo does, but I like how our house looks with a little dust. It looks like people actually livehere.
I go to my closet to choose an outfit for the market. Everything in my closet is shades of gray. I’ve always wanted a signature color. Margo’s is white. Graham’s is blue. He says it’s a power color. All of my underwear is blue.
I select a gray cashmere top and gray cashmere bottoms. Not the same shade of gray, because I don’t want to look like an insane person. I accessorize with the exact right amount of diamonds and the hot pink gator Kelly bag I won in a game with Margo.
I stop to check my reflection in the full-length mirror. Sometimes I am scared by how beautiful I am. Every inch of me is buffed and primed. My face hangs exactly right. My muscles are taut and organized. I am scared because I don’t want to lose it: the shaped nails, the tip of my nose, the sapphire glow of my eyes. I am sad because I want everyone to see it, but I don’t want to see them. I want them to know how lucky I am but I don’t want them to have access to me. It’s a real problem.
I pass through the living room on my way out. It’s Monday and light is streaming through the wall of windows, onto the travertine dining table, the gold bar chairs, the carved silver accents. The house is decorated to Graham’s taste because I don’t have any. I acquired his taste the day we got married. It was easier that way. Marriages fail because people are different. I want to be the same. Look the same, feel the same, have the same appetites. I want to cross the stars for us.
I pass through the courtyard on my way toward the gate. The flowers stink. The fountain gurgles uselessly, like a body choking on its own blood.
Our house looks like a handful of glass tumbling down a hill. Our front facade is modern, stoic, but when you step inside, the house stretches, open-plan, back and back forever, until it reaches a wall of windows. What you can’t see from inside is the structures, the plinths underneath that hold it up, allow for the illusion of those never-ending floors.
In the hills, people will build anywhere. The more perilous the precipice, the more insecure the foundation, the more they need to build something on it. It’s a challenge, a victory of money over matter.
Our house is built on the edge of a cliff.
And underneath it, between those concrete plinths, is a hidden guesthouse. It was built to hold up the house above. Margo once used it to store her exotic shoe collection, but now we use it to store a person.
I exit the gate and lock the door behind me. I can see Margo’s tower above, chiseled to a point. Margo’s house is like a castle, with all the requisite wars and rumors of wars. Graham says one day we’ll live there, when he inherits everything, but I have no doubt that Margo will live forever to spite me.
I sometimes wish we would move somewhere, start our own life with our own money. But there is a little-known fact about people with money: They are beholden to people with more money. So although Graham could afford his own house and his own life, his mother has more money. His mother has money that makes our money look poor.
When you’re rich, you can control everything. Except the richer.
Graham is afraid of losing his mother’s money. Maybe even losing his mother-who knows? Sowe live in a glass house beneath her fortress, in a tidy alcove in the hills above Los Angeles, the ugliest and most beautiful city in the world, depending on where you’re standing.
There is a little village square with a market just three blocks away but I have to drive. The streets in the hills are narrow and uneven and there are no sidewalks. Only mad people walk in LA. For my birthday, Graham gave me a gray Phantom. It’s terrible to drive in the hills. I’ve scraped the back end four or five times and cracked the rear lights but Graham won’t fix them because he thinks it’s funny.
It takes me ages to get it out of the garage and even longer to navigate the narrow streets of the hills because inevitably cars appear going the other way and I have to honk until they back up. People are such assholes.
I finally make it under the stone archway that signals the village. It’s designed to look like a European enclave, all stone streets and storybook architecture. It really just looks like an abandoned fairy tale.
When Graham and I first moved in, we walked to the village market together at dusk to buy a bottle of red wine. The memory itself has very little to offer-it was dark and we were holding hands-but what I remember is not the night itself, but the promise of the future contained in it, how I thought that we would do this again, perpetually: walk beneath the arches in the semidark, kiss in the stone corner of the vintage boutique, pretend we were a couple out of time. I remember saying, This is so magical. It’s like we’re somewhere else. It’s like Disneyland!
Now I drive beneath the arches and I think, We never came again. Not once. Graham works. We order everything in. If I ask him to go for a walk, he says, Are you kidding? Rich people don’t walk. Their shoes aren’t designed for it.
I get to the market and find handmade pasta, but the sauces are all wrong. There is a clerk beside me filling the shelves-a teenager with a constellation of zits from his ear to his throat.
“Excuse me?” I hold out the priciest pasta sauce. “Why is this so inexpensive? Is there something wrong with it?”
The attendant looks flummoxed, like he has never been asked such a question. “Uh . . . I’d have to ask.”
“Do you have anything more expensive?”
He blinks. “Uh . . . you could buy two?”
“You should make it from scratch.” A familiar woman approaches from farther down the aisle. I’ve probably seen her in the neighborhood. I turn to face her. She has three necklaces around her neck, so I know she’s crazy. One is a star, one is a circle and one is a cactus. I’ve seen the star necklace before, but it’s a popular design.
“Me?” I can’t believe she’s talking to me. Her under-eye area is clogged with mascara dust. She has wrinkles but she is probably younger than me. She just doesn’t have a good doctor.
“It would be more expensive if you bought all the ingredients separately.” She crosses her arms. She carries a shopping basket, but it’s empty.
I set the pasta sauce back on the shelf, stamp my foot, throw up my hands. “I have no idea what’s in pasta sauce!” I say, like nobody does.
“I can help you”-she shifts her hip-“if you want.” She purses her chapped lips. Those three necklaces glitter with menace. But Graham would be so impressed if I made my own pasta sauce. Even more impressed if I had someone make it for me.
The corner of my Kelly bag is digging into my side, so I adjust it. “Oh, would you? I would so appreciate it.” She nods eagerly. I indicate my cart. “Would you mind? It’s so hard to carry a bag and push a cart.” I frown.
She hesitates, face closing. She doesn’t know what it’s like having to carry a Kelly bag everywhere. It’s not like I can just put it in the cart!
She sighs and swings her plastic basket into my cart. I follow her to the produce section. She finds me the priciest tomatoes, precut garlic, red onions. It’s a good thing I’m there, because one of the onions looks dirty and I make sure she swaps it out. As she shops, she explains to me how to mix everything together. Of course, I don’t pay attention. I hate listening to people when they talk.
“Got it?” she asks when all the ingredients are in my cart.
“No,” I say blithely. She shifts from foot to foot. “I’ll never get it! We used to have a housekeeper who did all this, but we had to let her go,” I lie. “She was very religious.” That part is true. She suggested we were all going to hell. I privately thought hell couldn’t be worse than Margo. At least in hell you don’t have hope.
“I could help you,” the woman says, “if you want.” She adjusts her empty basket. “I’m actually looking for work.”
I find myself considering it. She seems to know her stuff, and I do need to hire someone before Margo does. It looks like I would be doing the woman a favor. Her hair is knotted. Her eyes lack sleep. Her nail beds are dirty and uneven. She’d be very lucky to work for us. There are far worse places to be.
Her necklaces remind me of something, but I can’t remember what.
Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City’s most impressive Gilded Age mansions.
Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter’s life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.
Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City’s most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica’s financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.
Review
Lillian is a young model in NYC. But, when her mother passes away she is lost on how to deal with many things. She ends up in a spot of trouble and she decides to run for it. This leads her straight into a job interview for a private secretary for Helen Frick. She thinks this is her saving grace…
This is told in two different time periods, 1919 and 1969, by two different voices, Lillian and Veronica. I enjoyed both time periods. Usually I like one better than the other. But both of these were intriguing and had fabulous characters.
If you follow me at all, you know I love a book that has me researching. This book had me researching about this family, this mansion and this art collection. What a unique family with a fantastic history. Now, I was not a big fan of the portrayal of Helen Frick. I found her a bit unbelievable. But this is a minor issue. I also loved learning about the modeling and the statues. This book is full of wonderful references.
Now that I have talked about all that…the story was pretty dang good itself. The way it twists around the mystery of the murder and the characters involved! I was hooked!
Need a FABULOUS historical fiction book…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller, certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last word.
When Chloe Davis was 21, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.
Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. So when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren’t actually there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer?
Chloe thinks her life is on track. She has a good job as a psychologist plus a wonderful fiancé. But her past will not stay in the past. She has a father in prison for the murder of 6 young girls. So, 20 years later when young ladies start to disappear, Chloe knows she must
Review
Chloe thinks she has her life on track. She is a psychologist with a wonderful fiancé. But, when her past comes back to haunt her, she knows she has to find the real killer or she may lose everything.
Chloe is a character which stole my heart. She has a terrible past she is running from. Her father is in prison for killing 6 young girls. She struggles with this fact every day. It never really leaves her. So, you can just imagine how she handles it when the new disappearances start happening 20 years later.
Well! This is one book I will not soon forget. I could not listen to it fast enough to suit me. This story is non stop. It twists around and then twists back. I thought I had it figured out, but I changed my mind, then I changed it back. I love a thriller which keeps you guessing!
The narrator, Karissa Vacker, nailed all the drama and all the intrigue. I will be on the look out for more from her. She excelled!
Need a good thriller with a surprise, twisted ending…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Sophie Sullivan’s writing feels like a warm hug.” —Rachel Lynn Solomon, bestselling author of The Ex Talk
Most Anticipated for 2022 by: PopSugar * Buzzfeed *USA Today
Enemies-to-lovers meets HGTV in this frothy, effervescent romantic comedy from Sophie Sullivan, author of Ten Rules for Faking It.
Interior Design School? Check. Cute house to fix up? Check.
Sexy, grumpy neighbor who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately.
Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, she’ll get her degree and her dream job. Most importantly, she’ll have a place to belong, something her harsh mother could never make. When an opportunity to fix up—and live in—a little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door.
Noah Jansen knows how to make a deal. As a real estate developer, he knows when he’s found something special. Something he could even call home. Provided he can expand by taking over the house next door–the house with the combative and beautiful woman living in it.
With the rules for being neighborly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.
Review
Grace has inherited her grandparents house on the beach. Being a design major, she is excited about the opportunity to fix the house up exactly as she wants. But, her new neighbor, Noah, has other ideas. He wants to buy this little beach house next door. Grace has no intention of selling!
Now, I was not a huge fan of Noah. I found him a bit overbearing and just plain rude at times. But, I know this is his design flaw! He does get better as the novel rolls along. And I definitely loved Grace. She is a go getter and she does not like to lose! So, these two have some pretty good bickering sessions. And…this leads to better things…onward and upward!
Need a cute fixer upper…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Arriving in California as a young boy in the early 1960s, Edward Van Halen and his brother, Alex, were ripe for the coming musical revolution. The sons of a Dutch, saxophone-playing father, the brothers discovered The Beatles, Cream, and other icons as they bound together as musical partners, forming identities for themselves in their adopted home along the way.
From the moment their hugely influential 1978 debut landed, Van Halen set a high bar for the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, creating an entirely new style of post-’60s hard rock and becoming the quintessential rock band of the 1980s. But the high-flying success was fraught with difficulty, as Eddie struggled with alcohol and drug addiction while simultaneously battling David Lee Roth over the musical direction of the band, eventually taking the band in an entirely new direction with Sammy Hagar and scaling new heights, before that iteration of Van Halen disintegrated.
Acclaimed biographer Paul Brannigan tackles the dramatic story with respect and affection for one of rock’s greatest musicians, pairing original interviews with meticulous research to bring the story of Eddie Van Halen completely up-to-date. Unchained: The Eddie Van Halen Story is a remarkable account of determination, genius, and single-minded commitment to the music.
Review
Eddie Van Halen lead a unique life. He was a Dutch immigrant from a musical family. He and his brother created a unique sound from influences like the Beatles and Cream. Eddie also created some amazing guitar rifts and music. He was one of rock’s greatest musical talents.
Being an 80’s girl, I absolutely loved this! This brought back my past and many memories! The songs, the rockers and the history compiled in this biography is wonderful. There is so much I did not know about Eddie Van Halen. This book encompasses so much! He was such a huge talent and he lived a life full of addiction, success and strife.
The narrator, Mike Lenz did a superb job. He definitely hit the right tone!
Need a good biography about one talented individual…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this audiobook from the publisher for a honest review.
A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory super powers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, will the boys be able to defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story — an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature readers alike.
“A captivating and poetic tale of mystery, fantasy, and reality tied together by action!” 5-stars, Lars Jackson, Amazon Customer
About the Author
K.N. Smith, winner of the “Best of” in the category of “Outstanding Young Adult Novel” at the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards, is an author, screenwriter, and passionate advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. She inspires people of all ages to reach their highest potential in their creative, educational, and life pursuits. She lives in California with her family. Visit K.N. Smith at www.knsmith.com.
AS ONE WOULD IMAGINE, a mysterious forest might offer deep, eerie chills, especially at night. Instead, the forest cast a rich glow, and the environment was beautiful and serene.
Walking slowly with their eyes absolutely feasting on the horticultural delights, the boys were approached by something they weren’t sure was real. It floated effortlessly, lighting up in a sporadic pattern, but had neither sound nor discernible shape, other than being somewhat clear and round.
Its fluttering wings suspended it in the center of their disbelieving huddle. All eyes were on it, but what it was provoked more mystery than the forest itself. It bounced in a cheery, beckoning fashion, flashing its stunning wings, drawing the boys into a never-ending waltz. They were transfixed, unable to glance at each other, prevented by the daze each silently battled.
The little glowing being carried about, moving closer to their faces. It moved in and out of trees, spewing sparkle and splendor, then floated away from the boys, yet stayed close enough to continue the enticement. Contributing to the amazing glow ricocheting from sprawling fronds to soaring trees and fallen leaves, the being’s creativity advanced in a display of twirls and spins, astonishing the boys. And they followed their little friend further and further into the forest.
Deeper ahead, the visual spectacle beautifully intertwined with the clicking noise, which grew louder and more defined, moving up the scale into high notes. The repetition of the noise mesmerized the boys, equating to an invisible lasso.
The friends grouped together, looking ahead and behind. Their stomachs tightened as the tension grew. What they saw next would pale in comparison to their little, wondrous friend, who steadily bounced around several curvy pathways.
The small creature led them into an area deep within the preserve housing two large, floating, clicking balls of light. The boys instinctively covered their eyes, yet still tried to peep through their fingers.
The light balls began spinning wildly and grew louder, with their tops spitting out free-falling shavings of light like fireworks.
The sputtering light bounced off the dirt only to end up against a tree or one of the boys, then back down and up again.
Slowing down, the beings moved in between the boys. Too scared to move and struggling with reality, the boys’ eyes locked onto the radiant balls.
And with a striking force, the five friends were encased by a bright, piercing light as the balls exploded, emitting their energy onto the boys.
Mixing and mashing north, south, east, and west, bright waves covered the soil, spreading across trees, rock, and all plant life. The forest fell silent, frozen like an inhale without an exhale. It was dark and quiet, except for the liquid energy dripping from the huge, wavy leaves.
Being subjected to drifts both in and out of reality, the boys succumbed to the lure of a vacant black space within the deepest parts of their minds. They fell to the ground unconscious, laying in this forbidden domain in the center of a place they had been warned not to approach.
And from some distance toward the other side of the preserve, a draped shadow had been looking inward and saw this mysterious incident.
The curve of his black hood was loose enough for him to witness the unthinkable. But it also shrouded his expression, which was impassive.
This figure, a dark stranger, had been watching the boys for a period of time and saw the explosion of light. He knew it had exposed them to a grave risk in this place of both awe and fear. He realized time would now take the reins as a master guide for these stricken young men, all of whom would need hope as a rod and stamina as a spear on the long journey ahead.
Knowing the veil of normalcy would need to be maintained in order for this inconceivable episode to be minimized, the Dark Stranger drew upon his strength to physically move each of the boys to Rhee’s house.
He knew familiar surroundings would ease them as they roused, barely able to comprehend their predicament.
For he knew much, and every step, every footprint left an indelible impression on the path leading to the studio in Rhee’s backyard. Indeed, footprints providing a window to the past meshed with hope for the future.
And like a laser, the Dark Stranger steadied his gait, hurling each one up and over his powerful shoulders. As he absorbed the totality of the scene, he breathed deeply. His head hung in a manner to which only trauma could relate. But in a sign of resilience it swiftly sprung back.
Under the circumstances, he knew time would not be patient nor friendly.
P.J. Tracy “seems to have found her literary sweet spot” (New York Times Book Review) with her dazzling new series, and in Desolation Canyon, fans get a deeper look into the complex characters who call Los Angeles home.
LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan is struggling to move forward after the death of her brother in Afghanistan and taking a life in the line of duty. Her stoic parents offer little support – they refuse to address anything difficult, and she’s afraid their relationship is eroding beyond the point of recovery.
The days off are the hardest, because they give Margaret time to think. A moment of weakness leads to cocktails with a colleague—an attraction she knows could be dangerous —at the luxurious Hotel Bel-Air bar. A stroll through the grounds leads to a grim discovery beneath the surface of Swan Lake: the body of a successful attorney who made his fortune in international trade.
It initially appears to be death by misadventure, but the case is anything but straightforward. As a series of shocking revelations emerge, Nolan finds herself confronting a sinister cabal that just might destroy her and everyone she loves.
Review
LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan has some issues she needs to resolve. She has been struggling for a while. Her brother passed away overseas and she also shot someone in the line of duty. So, she has some unresolved issues that need to be addressed. But, when a prominent lawyer is discovered floating in water, it is presumed accidental. But, Margaret has a sense, a sixth sense or whatever, this is not what it looks like.
I enjoyed Margaret. She is smart and tough, even though she is damaged. I like flawed characters. They add so much to the story when they feel human to the reader. Then there is Sam Easton…another flawed character. These two pair up to discover what is actually happening in the desert…religious cult…or…well, read the book to find out!
This story is a bit slow in places and did not pull me in. I had big expectations though and that sometimes throws off the real aspects. It is a bit disjointed in places. But, a cult drama is always intriguing to me.
Need a novel set in the desert to warm you up this winter…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
reecaspieces 