The Perfect Marriage Falters From Charleston Ghosts and Murder

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Unrepentant Siren by Karen M. Bence ISBN 978-1-56315-438-6

Bence follows up Midnight Revelations with another compelling and haunting sequel. Characters from Midnight Revelations come back into focus and then erupt into a mystery and in fact a horrific secret that murder is the mildest repercussion these secrets generate.

The story line begins with a shocking accident. Leila, Sara's best friend, is electrocuted. It is a freak accident but apparently only a near death experience for Leila. Sara is the protagonist of the tale carrying to plot with many exciting and interesting discoveries. Alex, Leila's fianc?, has been part of the dramatic changes in Leila's life. Alex is the one boyfriend that survived Leila's six month rule and then he proposed. After Leila's recuperation, all the interested parties go to Charleston for the plans that Alex's mother has for a grand traditional wedding get pushed at Leila. Sara and her son, Jack, are involved as they came to Charleston as a support group. Then the odd happenings that seem to always follow Sara and Jack start up even in Charleston. Sara finds herself drawn into some deep dark family secrets and she must solve these mysteries to save her friend, her friend's marriage and ultimately her own life.

The characters present from the first book in the series, The Dark Whispers Series, continue to develop and are further enhanced with abilities that Sara must deal with and even help Leila to understand and pay attention to. Leila and Sara develop a strong psychic connection despite efforts to stop it. David, Sara's husband, becomes more supportive and understanding.

The plot has sufficient twists and turns to keep even those who don't ever read a book sitting on the edge of their seats. Surprises crop up with unnerving regularity while still maintaining a depth of character not often seen. Bence has done it again and supplied a sequel leaving the reader with a longing for the next book in the series.

Although this deals with some sensitive issues the book should enthrall any young adult through jaded mystery reader. Highly recommended as a stand-alone, it is even better when read after Midnight Revelations. Hopefully Bence is only just beginning to write in this series and there will be many more before she stops writing like this.

Published by Sterling House Publishers, 2011. ( http://www.sterlinghousepublisher.com ) ($15.95 USD SRP/Amazon $9.11 USD) Reviewer received book from author.

Book Review: The Reunion by Sue Walker

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If you have been reading my posts for quite sometime, you already know that I am a fan of mystery/suspense stories. I love the chest-thumping, heart-stopping, and hand-trembling sensation brought about by suspense stories and I love making who-done-it guesses related to solving the mystery in a particular story. My love for mystery and suspense books started when I was in highschool when Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys became popular readings amongst my friends and classmates.

Suspense and mystery are inherent in most if not all crime stories and it obviously follows that I love crime stories too. Before I learned to love other genres, I thought that crime stories are the only books that I can ever tolerate. It's a good thing I came across Goodreads, and I was able to discover other genres and thus expand my reading preferences.

I bought The Reunion by Sue Walkerone fine, random day at Booksale without having any idea how good (or bad) it is and without any inkling who the author is except that it was only Php20.00 and its blurb seems to be just the kind of book I would like (suspense, check...mystery, check). It has suspense and mystery, all right, but I feel that the resolution towards the end took very long. I believe that for a suspense story to be effective, it must keep up with the pace otherwise it will turn out to be anticlimactic. The Reunion was just like that - anticlimactic. The suspense was so prolonged I finally got bored with it and did not care how the mystery will finally unfold in the end. I still endured it until finish and though there were some unexpected plot twists and surprising revelations, my interest had faded already that I was no longer that shocked nor surprised.

I have not heard about Sue Walker before so I did not have any idea about her writings. I do not have any trouble liking the way she writes except that the repeated flashbacks in the story terribly confused me and therefore added to my growing disinterest. This may be the last time I will ever read a book from Sue Walker, no offense meant. I do not mean to say that I entirely hated the book. It is okay, but entirely forgettable.

The Reunion is a leftover reading from last year and I don't know for how long this book has been sitting in my shelf. It just feels good to finally count this off my TBR list. Now on to other more interesting reads.

2 stars.

Blood Collector - The Time Anderson Series, By TC Elofson - Book Review

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It's another Thanksgiving in Seattle, and Detective Tim Anderson has a few problems. His partner, Detective Kenny Johnson, is having family issues with an elderly uncle. Anderson has a few family issues of his own, what with rarely seeing his daughter and having to deal with a bitter ex. Worst of all, somebody's killing people left and right on the Seattle streets, and all the evidence - such as it is - points to a vampire. However, as Anderson investigates further, he discovers it's worse than that: not only is the killer a vampire, but so are her victims.

This is the setup to Blood Collector, T.C. Elofson's mashup of vampire and police procedural novels, and it's a fast-paced ride. In fact, it might be a little too fast-paced; clocking in at just over 200 pages, Elofson takes readers on a whirlwind tour throughout history and several viewpoints as the saga of Fabiana, a nearly 2000-year-old beauty bent on destroying the original vampire, unfolds. Despite switching between first- and third-person points of view, as well as a few nested flashbacks here and there, Elofson does an admirable job of keeping the plot elements straight. Even better, real care is taken with the procedural and scientific evidence aspects of the plot, demonstrating a care and thoughtfulness with the realistic portions of the narrative that thoroughly grounds the novel's events in reality and helps sell the more fantastical aspects. This realism is not as assiduously applied to the vampires' effects on the real world, but there's enough present to sidestep some of the sillier clich?s, such as the lack of reflection in mirrors.

However, in a narrative this streamlined, something has to go, and in the case of Blood Collector, it's the characters. Not one is elevated to anything more than broad archetype, and in the case of the vampires, particularly Fabiana and her longtime love Cerci, all the clich?s Elofson managed to sidestep in vampire lore come crashing to earth from the romance side of the aisle. Even given the routine nature of characterization in most thrillers, these fall flat, and the stilted dialogue, frequent homophone misuse and comma-spliced sentences do the narrative no favors. The humans don't come off much better, and in at least one case - specifically, the FBI agent investigating the Seattle killings, which follow a pattern crossing state lines - some of the characterization and motivations seem to come out of left field. Mid-narrative switches in character don't do much for suspension of disbelief, and in this case, it becomes one too many burdens for the story to bear.

While the weak characterization and fundamental language issues sink the novel overall, Elofson displays strong plotting and clear thinking in constructing the narrative, raising hope that future efforts extend those strengths to characters.

Reviewed by: Nicole Sorkin, Pacific Book Review

http://www.pacificbookreview.com/