So Cold the River - a supernatural thriller

This book came as a complete surprise to me.  It was given to me by a friend who lives in French Lick, Indiana.  At first, I turned down the offer, but she insisted, indicating the book was set in her home town, and she even drove me to see the hotel where a portion of the book takes place.  I conceded and brought the book home.  I put it up on my "to be read" shelf with the intention of never pulling it down to read.  It just is not the type of book I normally read.  Recently, though, I was trying to decide what book to read next, and I saw this massive hardcover sitting there, overpowering all of the paperback novels around it, and so I figured, "What the heck.  I'll take it down, read a couple of chapters, and tell Dina that at least I gave it a shot."  So, I opened up this 503-page story and sat down to read it.  Three days later, I finished it!

So Cold the River, written by Michael Koryta, is the story of Eric Shaw, a cinematographer with a failed Hollywood career, a failing marriage, and a dead-end job video-taping weddings and putting together video-taped collages for funerals.  An assignment to put together a video for a recently deceased woman finds him focusing on a photograph of an A-frame cottage painted deep burgundy.  No people in the photo, but something about it draws Eric, forcing him to include it in the shot film of this woman's family and children.  It seems innocuous enough; but after the wedding, he learns the photo holds some important secrets that only the deceased woman's sister knows.  A woman who then hires Eric for a job - to head out to French Lick / West Baden, Indiana to research her father-in-law's life to produce a video about his childhood and history as a gift to her husband.  You see, her father-in-law is on his death bed, and no one - not even his own children - know anything about his life.  Eric declines until the woman offers him literally thousands of dollars to do the work.  So, Eric packs up and heads to Indiana, having no idea what is in store for him there!

If you are thinking that this does not sound overly exciting at this point, guess again.  That feeling Eric has about the A-frame in the photo - well, that is more than just a feeling.  And that bottle of spring water the woman gives him - the only thing her father-in-law has from his past in Indiana - it holds some very dark secrets.  Secrets that Eric begins to learn when he takes a sip from the bottle that has been closed for more than fifty years.  And then takes another sip.  And another.  It becomes an addiction, because the more he drinks, the more he begins to see things.  Glimpses of the past.  Glimpses of Campbell Bradford, the man he was sent to research.  Glimpses of the evil surrounding this man.  It becomes clear pretty quickly this is more than just a regular thriller.  There is a supernatural side to the story that turns dark really quick.  And a book that I had no intention of reading suddenly drew me in just as quickly as that bottle of water and the secret history of West Baden / French Lick draws in Eric.  

The characters in the story are superbly fleshed out, and as a reader, you find yourself drawn to each of them.  There's Kellen, the young college student working on a thesis about his grandfather's life running a speakeasy back in the day.  And his grandfather had told him some unbelievable stories about the town and about Bradford - stories that he begins to realize may not have been the imaginations of an elderly man.  There's Annie, the old woman who has been around long enough to know pretty much everyone in the town - and who has her own stockpile of bottled spring water from back in the day that has its own secrets to tell.  There's Josiah, the descendant of Campbell Bradford who is always getting into trouble - and who might very well be Campbell's path back to the real world.  There's Danny, the dimwitted best friend of Josiah who has always been loyal to Josiah - and who begins to realize that loyalty may come with a price.  And there's Claire, the spurned wife who still loves her husband despite everything - and who comes to Indiana in hopes of saving him from himself, only to find she is the one who needs to be saved!

The book is a definite page-turner, with so much tension building and so much suspense, you won't be able to put it down.  I give Koryta credit - he writes a very powerful story that will keep even a non-interested reader like me on the edge of his seat, waiting to see what is going to happen next and how it will all turn out!

NOW - all of that being said, I will give you one warning.  If you are thinking about watching the film adaptation of this book that was released back in 2022, I've got one word for you.  DON'T!!!  Under no circumstances should you watch the film if you've read the book.  I don't know what the filmmakers were thinking, but the movie is so far removed from the book, all it will do is drive you crazy and make you wish you could get back that hour-and-a-half of time you wasted watching it.  I made the mistake of watching it on a streaming channel, and throughout the entire movie, I'm screaming, shaking my head in disgust, and complaining at how much destruction the filmmakers did to this amazing tale.  The characterization is WAY off, and the story is so butchered, it's almost unrecognizable.  So, if you are thinking about watching the film, again - DON'T!  You will regret it!

Stick with the book - it is a million times better and well worth the read!

RATING:  9 tubs of sulfur-smelling spring water out of 10 for a shockingly great thriller with some unexpected twists and backstories that will leave you breathless by the end!

Objects of Desire - A Rita Mars Thriller (#2)

This is a series that I am reading because the author is a personal friend of a very good friend of mine.  While I have never met the author, Valerie Webster, personally, my good friend knows her and can't speak highly enough of her.  In fact, my friend is named in the Acknowledgements at the beginning of this book, as he helped edit the book!  And since I enjoyed the first book in this series (a little more than a year ago, my review at Rita Mars - Driven), I went into this story with some high hopes (and expectations).

Objects of Desire, like the first book, finds the title character, investigative reporter turned private investigator Rita Mars, working on two cases at the same time.  The "main" case, and the one that is promoted on the back of the book, involves the disappearance of Rita's ex-partner.  Did she disappear on her own?  Was she kidnapped?  Was she murdered?  No one knows what happened for sure, but a crusading cop with a major chip on his shoulder is out to pin the disappearance on Rita, which, of course, makes it very difficult for Rita to investigate - since every move she makes, the cop sees it as an admittance of guilt and an act on the part of Rita to cover her tracks!  Even with help and advice from Captain Smooth, Rita has to watch her every step, or she may wind up behind bars (which, quite frankly, she does at one point in the story!).

The second case that Rita is investigating, to me, is the much more interesting story.  Rita is hired to investigate a non-profit organization, whose new treasurer has sparked some mistrust for one of the employees - an employee who happens to know both Rita and her ex.  Rita agrees to look into the organizations' finances, posing as a risk assessment investigator.  She doesn't expect to find much, and basically has the case low on her list of priorities while she tries to figure out what happened to her ex.  But the more she digs into the non-profit and its new treasurer, the more questions she begins to find - one of the biggest being the treasurer's complete lack of history beyond just a couple of years ago and her unusual efforts to keep anyone from having access to the non-profit's financial records.  Well, being the curious one that she is, Rita digs deeper and begins to discover that the secrets and lies go much farther than simple embezzlement - and, in fact, the organization could be the target of some very dangerous, very "underworld" type people!

Webster flits back and forth between the two investigations, even giving us glimpses of the missing ex and her captor (whose identity is not given until Rita uncovers the truth about two-thirds through the story).  The kidnapped ex was, honestly, less exciting, as it was simply Rita going from contact to contact in order to find any clue as to the whereabouts of her ex and the identity of who might have taken her.  Other than her confrontations with the police officer, there was not really that much excitement or danger.  The non-profit story, however - that one really amped the excitement in this book.  The more she delved into it, the more dangerous it became - a shell company's registered agent who made it clear she was not welcome; a couple of thugs who threaten her life, warning her to back off the case; the game of cat and mouse with the treasurer, who knows Rita is on to her; and a vicious attack on her life in her own home when she unlocks the evidence to show exactly who is behind the non-profit's money issues!  This story felt very much like an adult Nancy Drew tale - I just wish we had gotten more of a payoff at the end, as it felt like most of the resolution occurred off-screen (so to speak), and we never got to see Rita face off against the scheming treasurer as she is taken down for her crimes against the non-profit.

This second book does offer up some more supporting cast members, all of whom I enjoyed greatly!  Rita's mom is a real hoot - her mental and physical health are declining, but she's still quick as a whip when it comes to recognizing the same signs in Rita that she saw in Rita's father, who was a law enforcement officer, and she's not afraid to call Rita out on them.  She's also a sly little cookie, who can pull the little innocent act, all the while having full knowledge of what's going on.  I love her!  There's also Rowell, the computer hack who is able to assist her in not only protecting herself against the invasive police officer who is watching her every move, but also help her dig into the finances and history of the non-profit and its not-so-honest treasurer.  He has a quirky personality that immediately endears him to you, and I definitely hope to see more of him in the future!  And then there's that ferocious rabbit hunter, The Great White Hunter (Rita's big, rangy tabby) - he may not have any lines to speak, but he definitely makes his presence known in the story!  And for me, anyone who loves cats, well, that's an automatic plus in my book!

Now, let's talk about the cover to this book.  I'm not really certain of the point to this cover, as it does not in any way convey the mysteries that lay within its pages.  To me, this screams "Sex Sells!" and is a poor attempt to attract readers based solely on two women, who appear to be nude or near nude, holding each close in a sensual manner.  Quite frankly, the cover to the first book was more appealing than this one.  Based on the cover alone, this is not a book I would have picked up, as it appears more like lesbian erotica than a mystery/thriller.  Not sure if this was an author choice or publisher choice, but I'm hoping the next book in this series (if there is one) sticks to a cover that better relays the type of story it is.

That being said, I did enjoy the story overall.  There was some editing snafus, such as missing quotation marks or a couple of misspelled words.  There were also some continuity errors - for example, at the end of Chapter 3, Rita calls her friend, Mary Margaret Smooth, and tells her about a meeting with her ex's current girlfriend, which did not go well.  In the very next chapter, Rita sits down for lunch with Smooth and once again tells her that she visited her ex's current girlfriend.  Did she perhaps forget she already discussed the visit with her friend?  Another example comes towards the end, when Rita goes to visit an old acquaintance of the kidnapper.  On page 271, the name given is "Lou Ann Kosek," but when Rita reaches Highlandtown on page 276, she ends up meeting and talking with "Ceci Lorta."  There was nothing to indicate Rita had changed her mind and visited someone else, so I was confused as to the change in names.  Perhaps Webster decided to change the name at some point after the story was written, but the one reference slipped through the cracks.

 

Oh, and there was something else in this book that was decidedly different from the first.  Webster spent way too much time going into the history of every building and every place that Rita visited in the book.  If the locale's or building's history played an actual part of the story, that would be one thing - but reading the history of every single place Rita went grew a bit tedious, and it began to feel more like padding than actual story elements.  Not sure why this was done, but as it continued throughout the book, it began to pull me out of the story, and I started skimming over those paragraphs, as they held nothing pertinent to either one of the cases at hand.

In any event, these things did not fully detract from my enjoyment of the embezzlement story, and similar to the first book, one of the two cases turned out to be much better to read than the other.  If a third book is forthcoming, we'll have to see if it follows this same format.

RATING:  7 bags of Oreo cookies out of 10 for expanding the cast with some lovable characters and giving the reader cases completely unlike either of the ones in the first book - way to keep it fresh!

Driven - A Rita Mars Thriller (#1)

This book was recommended to me by my very good friend, Geoffrey Lapin, who happens to know the author personally.  He hadn't yet read the book, but he asked me to read it and provide my review of the book, so how could I say no?  I mean, after all, it's a mystery, it features a female protagonist, and with the last name "Mars" - eh, Veronica Mars, anyone?  I LOVED that show!  And better yet, I didn't even have to buy the book - Geoffrey sent me a copy as a gift.  So, I moved it to the top of my reading pile and dove right in.

Driven is the first Rita Mars thriller written by Valerie Webster, and, from what I gather, Ms. Webster's first published novel, period.  The postscript in the book indicates that book two is coming, so this novel is only the beginning of the series.  Webster does a wonderful job of giving us a different kind of sleuth.  Rita Mars is not your typical private investigator.  She's a former investigative reporter turned P.I., with a secretary named Beverly Hills (more on her later!), who lives in the country but maintains an office in the Washington, D.C. area.  She carries a lot of baggage - from an alcoholic father who killed himself to a line of disastrous relationships - but when she sets her mind to something, nothing and no one can stop her until she finds what she is looking for!  In a word - she is driven!

The mystery is a rather topical one - it involves a considerable amount of behind-the-scene deals within the government, on a very high level, that could very well be (and most likely is!) going on in the real world.  Only, in this mystery, the stakes are high enough that someone is willing to kill to keep their secrets from coming out.  What I did find a bit odd was that the mystery opens with Rita Mars going to visit a fellow journalist with whom she used to work alongside - but instead of finding him waiting for her, she finds him dead!  That's not the odd part, though.  With such a cryptic, shocking opening, I was expecting the mystery to focus on who killed Bobby Ellis and what story was he working on that was important enough that someone would kill him; however, the story suddenly moves over to a woman who comes to Rita's detective agency for help - her ex-husband is stalking her and threatening, and she is afraid for her life.  Rita reluctantly takes the case, and soon enough finds herself a target of the ex-husband, who is an ego-maniac that loves to play games and loves to prove he can get away with anything!

So, that begs the question - is this mystery about the death of Bobby Ellis, or is it about the stalking of Karin Van Dreem?  Well, ultimately, it turns out to be about both.  And before you think this is just like a Nancy Drew mystery, where the two very different mysteries suddenly merge and become one greater mystery, don't go there.  This is definitely not Nancy Drew, and the two mysteries are wholly separate monsters all on their own.  Both mysteries put Rita's life in danger, and while with one mystery the killer's identity is unknown and with the other he's plain as day but seemingly untouchable, they both require Rita's utmost investigative skills to solve.  Unfortunately for Rita, one of them nearly lands her in jail, while the other nearly lands her in trouble with the FBI.

I do have to say that I really loved the various supporting characters in the book.  Beverly Hills (f/k/a Charles Tyrell Wheatly) is ex-military and a darned good office assistant who handles all of Rita's administrative work.  She also happens to be a caring person who looks out for her boss (literally!) and is not some stereotypical black man in drag.  Loretta Mondieu is Rita's neighbor out in the middle of nowhere who suffers with Alzheimer's - so she is always meeting her for the first time.  But she's not completely out of it, because she definitely recognizes the devil when she sees him!  Captain Smooth is actually Mary Margaret Smooth (and yes, that IS her name), and she is "the tallest 5'6" cop in the city" (p. 10).  She's Rita's life-long friend and is Rita's go-to person when she needs help.  It truly is a diverse, unique supporting cast that actually melds nicely with Rita's personality and act-before-you-think nature.  I give Webster kudos for fleshing out each of the supporting members of the cast throughout the story, yet leaving so much unknown about each of them to explore in future books.

Now, as I said, the book deals with a lot of political intrigue that, honestly, is likely going on in our government today.  One statement Rita makes early on the story pretty much sums up the reality of today's political climate in America - "...put a face on TV enough, and, bingo, sheep are gonna follow" (p. 32).  Definitely a sad statement of truth regarding the general populace in the United States today.

When all is said and done, the book is a very satisfying read, even if the secondary story involving Karin Van Dreem seems a bit superfluous.  But, then again, what private investigator in real life only works on one case at a time?  I guess it is a bit more realistic that Rita would need to work on a paying client's case while also trying to work on her own personal case (for which she is not getting paid).  Now let's see what Webster has in store for Rita Mars in book two...

RATING:  8 peanut butter and strawberry preserves sandwiches out of 10 for introducing Rita Mars to the world in an engaging first novel!

A Cainsville Novel - Portents (A Collection of Short Stories)

It was absolutely a joy to return to the world of Cainsville and Olivia Taylor-Jones. I truly fell in love with this series by Kelley Armstrong, and was so disappointed when it ended after only five books. But, those five books were so amazing that I could accept the fact that Armstrong was ready to put her characters and world to rest and not try to keep it going with less-than-stellar stories. What I did not realize, however, is there she had written other short stories along the way that expanded upon those characters and that world - until I found the collection of those short stories on Amazon!

Portents opens the door to the past for readers to learn more about some of the side characters - such as Seanna, Rose, Patrick, Bobby,Gabriel, Ricky, and, of course, Liv. Armstrong provides some very interesting looks into the past and provides a bit more insight into why these characters are the way they are in the main series.

"The Screams of Dragons" tells the story of when Rose was just a child, living in Cainsville; however, the main character in this tale is Bobby Sheehan - a very young Bobby Sheehan who is nothing more than a young boy who is having dreams of castles and dragons.  He is friends with Rose and Hannah, both of whom who live in Cainsville, as well as a few of the elders. But he has a vicious grandmother who believes he is a changeling and not her real grandson - and she will do just about anything to prove it, even if it means turning an innocent child into a vicious killer...

"Devil May Care" gives readers the chance to see just how Patrick became the father of Gabriel - - and how the trickster himself was out-tricked by a drug addict after a one-night stand. She is pregnant, and she will use that child as a means to an end to get what she wants. But how far is Patrick willing to go to protect that child from a mother who doesn't want him?

In "Gabriel's Gargoyles," we get to see Gabriel as a young boy on the hunt for the final gargoyle in Cainsville.  It is tradition, and he knows he can do it, despite offers of helps and hints from some of the elders.  But his heart is broken when the authentic Victorian tarot card set he was saving to buy for Rose is bought by someone else just when he has the money for it - does the boy who has learned to lie, cheat, and steal to survive actually have a heart to break when it comes to his great-aunt?

"The Orange Cat" is a fun little story about a cat who cannot die and the man who owns it and can't seem to get rid of it, no matter what he does. The man hires Gabriel to represent him, and Gabriel discovers that not everything in the world is black and white. For some things, there is just no rational explanation.

"Bad Publicity" brings us back to Patrick, who has now been penning book after book under pseudonyms so as to avoid any attention to himself. But a new publicist hired by his publisher is bound and determined to get him into the limelight, and when she tells him he has won an award for his writing and has to make an appearance, he is right to be suspicious, as this award comes with some strings that Patrick doesn't particularly care for...

"Matagot" is probably the most unique and fun tale from this book, as it is the story of Olivia's cat, TC, who just so happens to be one in a long line of matagots - in this case, one who is there to protect and watch over the latest Mallt-y-Nos (a/k/a Matilda n/k/a Olivia). But when TC gets cat-napped and locked in a basement with no chance of escape, how can he possibly fulfill his destiny and protect Olivia from the dangers that abound?

The final short story is nowhere near as short - in fact, it is a novella of sorts, "Lady of the Lake." Broken up into small chapters, the story alternates points-of-view between Ricky and Olivia when they take off on his motorbike for a weekend away from everything and everyone.  Olivia has just had a fight with Gabriel, and the last thing she wants to do is think about him.  So, off Ricky and Olivia head into the unknown on Ricky's bike - but where they end up has a secret ... a baby has disappeared ... and there is a haunted pond with a cave that no one goes near. Some have never come back from it. So, what do you think happens when Ricky and Olivia go swimming and find a water fae? The mystery, the danger, and the secrets all come to a head, and Olivia has no choice but to turn to Gabriel and Patrick to not only find out whether the water fae may have stolen the baby, but also what secret it is hiding within those caves...

Now, there were two more excerpts at the end of the book from two of Armstrong's novellas set in the Cainsville world - however, I'll be honest and admit that I did not read them, as I don't want to read only part of a story (it's the same reason I never read any "previews" that show up at the end of some novels in an attempt to get readers excited about the next book) - if I'm going to read a story, I want the whole thing.  Maybe one day I will get the Lost Souls and/or Rough Justice novellas; but, for now, Portents did a really good job satisfying my need for more Cainsville tales.

RATING:  9 zombie cats out of 10 for fulfilling the fans' need for more Cainsville and providing some great backstories to the characters we have come to love (and hate!).

A Cainsville Novel, Book 5 - Rituals

I picked up the first Cainsville novel, Omens, because the description on the back of the book made me think of Dark Shadows.  A young woman goes to a town where she's never been and becomes involved in the lives of people she's never met, and there's a distinct supernatural element that she doesn't quite understand going on all around her.  There are secrets everywhere, including Olivia Taylor-Jones' own life and identity, and before I knew it, I was hooked!

Now, with Rituals, I've reached the end of the journey. Oliva (a/k/a Eden) has come to terms with the fact that she is the daughter of two alleged serial killers.  She has also accepted the fact that she is the reincarnation / host to a Celtic legend - Matilda - and that her boss/friend Gabriel is Gwynn and her ex-boyfriend Ricky is Arawn. Three individuals, forever trapped in a love triangle time and time again. And Oliva ... Eden ... Matilda left with the most difficult choice of all - choosing between the two, which choice breathes life into one of the two population of fae living here on Earth.

But what if there were a third fae? And what if that third fae decided after all these centuries, it wanted a piece of the action - it wanted an opportunity to receive that breath of life, while the rest of the fae dwindled?  And what if that third fae would do just about anything to get that chance - including manipulating people and events throughout the years to lead Olivia, Gabriel, and Ricky to this very spot at this exact time?

That is precisely where author Kelly Armstrong takes readers in her final installment of the Cainsville series.  All the secrets are out.  The truth behind Olivia's real parents - the how and why they were able to cure their daughter of spina bifida. The truth behind Gabriel's mother - why she was so heartless and cruel and how she was able to pull the ultimate con.  The truth behind the Cainsville cabal - the deal they made and with whom they made it.  And Olivia finally makes the choice - but it is not at all what anyone expects!

Armstrong has her usual dose of romance in the story, but it is such a small part of the overall tale.  The Celtic rituals, the supernatural powers, the visions, the lies, the machinations, the calculated plans, the sacrifices - there is romance, there is adventure, there is dark horror, there is supernatural powers, there is mystery, and there is good, old-fashioned action.  Let me tell you, this one has it all.  While I hate to see the series end, I definitely could not think of a better way to conclude Olivia's tale.  Not everyone gets a happy ending, but the reader does get a very satisfying conclusion that leaves no question unanswered and leaves you smiling as you turn that last page.

Plus - how could I not love a book and an author who has her characters engage in the following conversation:

"How about giving her the wine?" Ricky asked. "Isn't that what you used to handle Muggles who stumbled into the fae world?"
"Muggles?" Grace said.
"It's from Harry Potter," I said. "It means --"
"I've read Harry Potter, thank you very much. I just don't think a biker should use the terminology.  People might think he's semiliterate."
"I'm very literate," Ricky said. "I havea huge collection of comic books. I even know what most of the words mean."
"Name your favorite DC superhero."
"I'm really more of a Marvel guy."
"No, you're really full of $#!^. I'd be better off asking your favorite Faulkner character."
"Faulkner's not much for character.  He's more style-driven. I identified better with the characters in Harry Potter. As for Marvel, I'd say Kitty Pryde, but if you ask me officially, I have to say Ghost Rider, because it's, you know"-- he motioned at his Saints jacket -- "obligatory."

This series is a definite must-read for any fans of supernatural / horror / mystery - excellent writing, engaging stories, and characters that jump right off the page!  I can't recommend it enough!

RATING:  10 fae retirement homes out of 10 for sending this series off with a real bang!

A Cainsville Novel, Book 4 - Betrayals

I have been thoroughly enjoying the Cainsville series by Kelly Armstrong.  It has a bit of the Gothic feel from Dark Shadows, plus the supernatural elements of The Gates, and good ol' fashioned mysteries like Agatha Christie.  It has a strong leading character in Olivia Taylor-Jones (Eden Larsen), a woman with a mysterious past and an even more ominous destiny. It has definitely engaging supporting characters - Gabriel, the strong silent type and Ricky, the wild exciting type.  It has the perfect love triangle that has endured through the centuries.

The only thing this series apparently doesn't have - is a continuing saga.  Before I picked up this book to read it, I found out that the next book in the series, Rituals, is going to be the last in the series.  Which, is very disappointing, as I love the stories, I love the characters, and I really love ongoing series.  Yet, as with so many "series" in today's market, it has to be finite.  So, of course, knowing that this was the penultimate book in the series, it made it difficult to open it up and start that first chapter.

But I did ... and it was so worth it!

With Betrayals, Armstrong continues the destiny of Gwynn, Matlida, and Arawn - Gabriel, Olivia, and Ricky.  Are they doomed to repeat the same mistakes as their past lives?  Can they break the cycle of betrayals and jealousies?  As a new threat comes on the scene, and the three of them find themselves protecting the lives of desperate fae women who are being hunted by a rogue Cŵn Annwn and his broken hound, they find that keeping secrets from one another comes naturally, and what happens when those secrets come out?  Can their love and friendship withstand the test?

Armstrong plots a wonderfully crafted mystery, as I'll admit, I didn't see the twist coming with regards to who was really being the murders of the fae women.  And, as with the prior three books, she continues to drop more and more hints about Olivia's past, the reason her parents did the things they did, and more information on the two factions who are so desperately vying for Olivia to make her choice - will it be Gabriel (Gwynn) or Ricky (Arawn)?  So far, she has avoided making any final decisions, but it seems the time for making that decision is drawing close, as the battle lines are being drawn.

I love Olivia's strength - she has no problems standing up to those who would push her, and she certainly has no qualms about calling out others on their hypocrisy and their weaknesses.  At the same time, she can be vulnerable, like any real person, particularly when it comes to being hurt by the ones she loves the most.  But, as with any person, she has grown over the course of these first four books, and Betrayals gives Olivia the chance to really shine, particularly when it comes to her relationship with Gabriel and her love/hate relationship with her parents.  I'm still rooting that Gabriel will able to get her biological father freed - but he can leave her biological mother in prison to rot for what she did.  And while Armstrong has built up the love between Olivia and Ricky, I'm also still rooting for Gabriel to ultimately win Olivia's heart.  He's the real underdog in this series, despite his power and strength, and while this book does not yet answer that continuing question, I'm guessing the next (and last) book will.

So, yes, reading the book was most certainly enjoyable - it's well written, it's not riddled with editorial errors as many books I've recently have been, and it continues a saga of supernatural and Gothic intrigue that keeps me entranced - but that enjoyment was tempered with a bit of disappointment and sadness, knowing that soon, I'll have no more Cainsville to visit.  At least it won't be for another year until Rituals comes out in paperback, so until then, I can relish in the tales I have read and keeping hoping Armstrong and her publisher will change their minds...

RATING:  9 cans of beef stew out of 10 for showing the world that "supernatural" does not have to mean vampires and werewolves - there are other creatures of the night that can be just as scary, if not scarier!

A Cainsville Novel, Book 3 - Deceptions

Kelly Armstrong has me hooked!  I picked up the first book in this series, Omens, because the description gave me the same feeling I get when I watch Dark Shadows.  A supernatural saga with a real world setting.  Deceptions is the third novel in this ongoing saga of Olivia Taylor-Jones (who discovered in the first book that she is actually Eden Larsen, the daughter of two convicted serial killers!), and just as the prior two books, we not only learn a bit more about Olivia/Eden's past, we also learn more about the fae heritage from which she was born.

The book picks up pretty much right after the ending of Visions - Gabriel and Olivia are recovering from the car crash and the attempt by Macy Shaw to kill them both.  From there, the story keeps up the pace, as Olivia finds that she can't stay away from Cainsville and still learn what she needs to know about her own past and about whether her real parents, the Larsens, are truly guilty of the killing spree they are accused of.  Her visions continue, leading her to understand that not only does she play a part in the grand scheme, but also biker-boyfriend Ricky and her lawyer-friend Gabriel.  Readers discover, right along with Olivia, just how connected the three of them are and what their decisions will mean to the various factions of the fae living here in the real world.  Are they really controlling their own destinies, or are they mere pawns that will be forced to replay the same scenario done so many times before?

Of course, this book also brings to the forefront the killings of which Todd and Pamela Larsen are accused.  Without spoiling anything, the entire truth behind the killings comes out by the end of this book, and Olivia must find a way to come to terms with the truth - the truth of who instigated it, the truth of who really committed the murders, the truth of how those murders and her parents' actions are tied into the fae, and the truth of how those murders play into her own life.  The book is aptly titled, as there are quite a number of deceptions that finally stand revealed by the end of this book.  And, to give you fair warning, there is an unexpected death in this book that not only is integral to the continuing story here, but it also has an impact on Olivia.

I will admit, there was a bit more "romance" in this book than I would have preferred ... and Armstrong gets a bit graphic at points.  While I get that this series is likely aimed at females, and perhaps these type of scenes are somehow titillating to women readers, for me, they seemed needless distractions to the story (gratuitous sex scenes, if you will).  That being said, I'm still rooting for Olivia to end up with Gabriel!  (Poor, Gabriel, he just is too uptight for his own good!)

Anyone that loves supernatural thrillers is bound to love this series.  And even though I known pretty much nothing about the "fae" and about Celtic history, Armstrong is very careful about not just throwing things out there without giving some sort of history or explanation to the reader, so it's easily accessible.  Of course, this is an ongoing series, so it absolutely has to be read in order - Omens, Visions, and now Deceptions (with Betrayals being the next book that will be coming out).  It's my hope this series will continue indefinitely, but we shall see...

RATING;  9 boar's tusks out of 10 for keeping the roller coaster ride going, for keeping me guessing, and for a startling payoff in the end!

Jessica Farm - Volume 2

WTF?  Honestly, there is just no other way of putting it.  I've read some off-beat comics in my time, and the first volume of Jessica Farm was definitely unusual and not at all what I was expecting.  It was part fantasy, part thriller, part mystery.  Volume 2, however, while picking up right where Volume 1 left off, goes so far beyond the realm of absurd that I really don't know what to think or say about it.

Jessica Farm and her newfound companion, Mr. Sugar Cock (don't ask), have now met "the Smiths" - Papa Smith, Funny Uncle Smith, and Baby Smith. Only, the Smiths are not people.  They appear to be some type of fox/goat-types who happen to live within the barn on the Farm property.  And they are going to help Jessica and Sugar fight the Crangleshitters and Skrats that are tearing up the farm.  So, they leave the safety of the barn and confront the two Skrats that are outside.  Only, once defeated, they find out those aren't the only Skrats - there is a whole army of them - and on the other side, coming quickly, are the Crangleshitters!  Then, for the next thirty-five or so pages, there is nothing but fighting - and since none of these creatures are even human, it becomes a hodge-podge of a mess that is so difficult to figure out exactly what's going on, that I pretty much skimmed over the pages, saying to myself, "a page of fighting...another page of fighting...and another page of fighting," and so on, until I finally got back to Jessica and Sugar, who are searching for the secret door that will take them underground to safety of a cavern where they meet three humans - Frikk, Frank, and Fred (who, for no apparent reason, seems to be trapped inside of a dead human carcass nailed to the cave wall).  And they send Jessica on a journey to fulfill her destiny, the first place of which is a cave called The Rainbow Chamber that will allow you to hover through the air if you completely clear your mind and forget yourself.  Yeah, okay....

I won't even talk about what happens when Jessica and Sugar go into the Rainbow Room, as (a) it is not really necessary to be as graphic as it is and (b) it doesn't really serve any purpose in the story (unless Jessica is going to later become pregnant in the next book).

After reading this book, I can honestly say I have no intention of picking up Volume 3, which, by the way, is said at the end of this book to be coming out in 2024 - definitely NOT worth the wait or the read.

Don't know how long it has been since I have been completely and utterly disappointed in a comic that I've bought and read.  Sure, some may not be to my liking, and some may not measure up to my expectations.  But Volume 2 of Jessica Farm is just so completely jumbled by the art (when you try to draw that many creatures fighting each other all at once, it becomes hard to separate one from another in the melee - of course, though, now that I think about it, perhaps that was Simmons' idea in doing it), and the story has gotten so far off the beaten path that I can't say that I understand, or even want to understand, what is going on with it and in what direction it is really headed.  The oddity of it may have been intriguing in the first book, but it's just way too out there in this one to be understood.

Oh well, you never know until you try it, right?

RATING:  3 Grokk-flokkers out of 10 just for remaining faithful to his one page of story and art per month (this second volume having been created from January 2008 through December 2015).

Jessica Farm - Volume 1

Each month, when we get our Previews book, I always go page by page through the independent comic section, looking for little known treasures that might offer some great reading.  I've learned in recent years that independent comics carry a lot higher quality of story-telling and are much less restricted in their ability to pack a lot of story into less pages than the Big Two (and yes, I'm referring to Marvel and DC, whose comics are more about the art and flashy splash pages these days than they are about actual story).  So, when I stumbled across a new book from Fantagraphic Books a couple of months ago, I thought the description sounded good, so I ordered it.

"Jessica Farm fuses adventure, fantasy and psychological horror, all stamped with Josh Simmons' macabre sensibility.  In Book 1, Jessica arrives at her Grandparents farm and the banality is subverted by a ratcheting sense of dread, as we discover that Jessica's increasingly nightmarish house is filled with creatures around every corner."

I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I could have easily done an internet search, I suppose, and learned all I could about the book and the author, but why spoil the surprise?  Books 1 and 2 were both being offered, so I bought them both.  I recently got them in our comic shipment, so I sat down today and read the first volume.

Whoa...

Jessica Farm is far from anything at all what I was expecting.  There are so many horror movies and television shows that deal with a person who goes to a house/farm/school/etc. and discovers that nothing is what it seems.  Is it a dream, a la Nightmare on Elm Street?  Is it a possession, a la Amityville Horror?  Is it a link to pure evil, a la Hellraiser?  Or is it something else entirely?  With Jessica Farm, it is definitely something else.

First, let's talk about the concept (something which I either missed in the Previews description of the book, or it simply wasn't advertised that way).  This is apparently a labor of love in every sense of the word for the creator, Josh Simmons.  He is not only the author, but also the artist and the letterer, and this book (or rather, series of books) is what the back of the book describes as a "life-spanning work in which the cartoonist is drawing one page every month for 50 years (this volume was created between January 2000 and December 2007)."  Yes, you read that right.  This man creates just one page a month - so that the 96-page first volume took him 8 years to complete. Wow.  I mean, really - wow.  That is definitely some dedication right there!

Next, let's talk about the art.  Simmons' art is without a doubt a style all unto itself.  You would never see this kind of art in any mainstream book, that's for sure.  And while, at first, I was rather turned off by the simplistic, almost child-like drawings, the more pages I read, the more I began to realize just how detailed and pointed his art really is.  For example, Jessica's father is shown in the book only as a shadow - you never see his face, his body, his anything.  Except his hands.  You do see his hands, which are three-fingered, white-gloved hands that bear a striking resemblance to the hands of a certain mouse here in Central Florida.  Coincidence?  Or how about the grandeur of the attic on page 22, which is one of the very few full splash pages in the book - shadowed with only slivers of light coming through the large window about, he creates an amazing effect of roominess and enormity, while at the same time, a sense of stuffiness and almost-claustrophobia.  Then, of course, there's the nudity.  This book is certainly not intended for children.  There is full frontal female and (surprisingly!) male nudity within the book.  But, before you think it, there is no gratuitousness to it at all.  It falls meaningfully within the story, and it's done realistically (meaning no over-sized breasts or engorged male members that are beyond human reality).  None of it is there to titillate, and in some ways, it adds to the odd horror of this tale.

Which bring us to the tale itself.  The story opens with Jessica waking up on Christmas morning and talking to a monkey on her dresser, who reminds her it is Christmas day.  She is very excited until her father appears at the door to also remind her it is Christmas day.  Her reactions to each are very telling, setting the tone of the tale. With the monkey, she is excited and can't wait; with her father, however, Jessica hangs her head and the reader gets an immediate sense of dread.  It isn't until later - after Jessica showers to the sound of a big band playing from her soap dish; after she is dragged into a dark room by a filthy, vulgar-mouthed old man who shows her a pit of babies with their eyes and tongues removed; after she visits the big band again, this time in the attic where they are putting on a concert for a room full of tiny people; after she visits the unbelievable heights of the towers, which overlooks the countryside far and wide; and after she meets up with the Captain on her journey back to her room - it is only then that the reader begins to realize that Jessica is escaping.  She is being physically abused by her father, and while she repeatedly tells everyone she has to face him, at every turn she is doing anything but.  Which raises the ultimate question regarding the story - is everything but a dream in her mind, a way for her to escape the physical violence that is her father?  Or is all of it really happening, and Jessica resides in some outlandish realm of supernatural and horrific beings?  And what of her mother?  The story is completely silent, never mentioning or showing her once, leaving the reader to wonder.

Jessica Farm is in no way what I was expecting, but ultimately, I think that was a good thing.  It is surreal and psychological in a way no other comic I've ever read has achieved, and despite its not-so-typical art and off-beat story, it has definitely caught my attention and my interest - which, I believe, is what any creator really wants, yes?

RATING:  6 crangle-shitters out of 10 for keeping me completely off-kilter while I was reading this book and surprising the heck out of me with a unique and totally unexpected story!

A Cainsville Novel, Book 2 - Visions

Simply put, Kelly Armstrong is a magnificent writer. I picked up her first Cainsville novel, Omens, on a lark, because the description on the back read something that was very reminiscent of Dark Shadows - a young woman suddenly finds her past is nothing but a lie, she goes to a strange place where she knows no one and where there are secrets around every corner.  Sound familiar?

Olivia Taylor-Jones, the lead character in the series, finds out she is the daughter of serial killers, and her real name is Eden Larsen.  Here, in Visions, the story picks up immediately after the end of the first novel. Having uncovered the truth behind the final two murders that her parents were supposed to have committed - but didn't! - Olivia and her attorney/boss/semi-sorta-friend, Gabriel Walsh, are once again thrust into a dangerous web of deceit when Olivia discovers a body in her car - one that is made up to look just like her.  Then, it disappears.

At first, Olivia thinks it is just another omen - she has a tendency to see and interpret omens - but soon enough she finds out the body is real, when the decapitated head is left in her bed!  Armstrong provides plenty of suspense and twists-and-turns throughout the story as to who the dead woman is, why she was left for Olivia to find, and what her connection is to the ever-growing-more-mysterious Cainsville.  More truths are unveiled about the townspeople of Cainsville (who have PLENTY of secrets), the truth about Gabriel's father and his missing mother are revealed, and truths are hinted at about Olivia's heritage, her connection to both Gabriel and the biker-turned-boyfriend Ricky, and the game that is being played with all three of them.

The use of Welsh history and folk lore provides an interesting element, and it creates a backstory that is entirely new to me, since I know pretty much zilch about the Welsh history.  But part of the focus of this novel (and from whence the title comes) are the visions that Olivia keeps having of the "Wild Hunt."

This book and the previous one have been unbelievably good.  They read like a serial, and I can easily visualize it in my head as an ongoing television show, either a night-time soap, or, for as much story is packed into each novel, a daytime drama (a la Dark Shadows).  There is some romance in the story (between Olivia and Ricky) that gets steamy without getting overly graphic, and the sexual tension between Gabriel and Olivia is ever-present.  But, thankfully, it's not over done, and it's not always at the forefront (as I am not a huge fan of romance novels).

The third book is Deceptions, and I can't wait to see what it holds in store for the Olivia and her supporting cast (let's face it - I hope she eventually finds out and is able to reveal that her parents did not kill any of the people they are accused of killing!).

RATING:  10 out of 10 suspense-filled visions for keeping me turning page after page and for making me really care about the characters!