Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper

Title:

Chill of Fear

Author:

Kay Hooper

Series:

A Bishop/Special Crimes Unit

Genre:

Half a glass of Mystery, mix in a shot of Romance, finally shake it up with some Paranormal.

Back-of-Book Summary:

For twenty years FBI agent Quentin Hayes has been haunted by an unsolved murder that took place at a secluded Victorian-era resort in Tennessee when he was little more than a boy. Now part of Noah Bishop’s Special Crimes Unit, he’s returned to the scene of that long-ago crime to find answers.

Diana Brisco has come to The Lodge hoping to unlock the mystery of her own troubled past. Instead she is assailed by nightmares and the disturbing visions of children who vanished from the resort years before. She an FBI agent is trying to convince her that she isn’t crazy but that she has a rare gift – a gift that could catch the coldest killer of all.

A Bibliophile’s Review:

I accidentally stumbled upon this book when I was on vacation with my family in South Carolina. It was just sitting there in a pathetic little souvenir shop, its bright blue cover instantly caught my attention. That or I had nothing to do and was bored out of my mind. Either way… I can honestly say that it was not a waste of my money (no matter what my parents may of thought). It’s very difficult to find well written novels involving psychic powers of any sort, that doesn’t involve the supernatural (ex: vampires, witches, werewolves). This book is like an intriguing blend of CSI, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, but with a twist of ESP type abilities. The male lead is far from your stereotypical cop, he has an interesting past that leaves one wishing to know more with each turn of the page. The entire cast is both serious, and at the same time quite amusing. The author did a fantastic job with switching the narrator, without losing the reader in the process. From beginning to end the flow of the story was exceptional. A great job to say the least.

Final Word:

Personally, I sincerely enjoyed the book, but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. What matters though, is that the general idea is extremely unique, the plot is fascinating, the characters humanizing, and at the end one can’t help but come out thoroughly satisfied.

Rating: (out of 10)

8/10

Recommended Readers:

Anyone that enjoys partaking in mysteries that aren’t your typical mysteries. It is necessary to think outside of “Mister Mustard, with the pistol, in the Library”.

If You Enjoyed This Then Try:

Honestly, it’s rather hard to say, I’ve yet to find anything that even remotely falls into the same general genre as this. I shall keep you all updated if I do stumble upon anything similar to this.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Title:

Kindred

Author:

Octavia Butler

Series:

N/A

Genre:

 Historical fiction with a twist of science fiction.

Back-of-Book Summary:

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South, Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned across the years to save him. After this first summons, Dana is drawn back again and again, to the plantation to protect Rufus and ensure that he will grow to manhood and father the daughter who will become Dana’s ancestor. Yet each time Dana’s sojourns become longer and more dangerous, until it is uncertain whether or not her life will end, long before it has even begun.

A Bibliophile’s Review:

I will honestly say, I’ve never been a big fan of historical fiction. They’ve simply never held my interest, so when my former high school English teacher kept telling me to check the book out… initially I blew her off. Eventually curiosity got the better of me, and I must say was I surprised. No sooner then I had read the first page, was I captured. I was unable to put the book down. Kindred is a easy read, its written in a way that the reader can understand every last little detail from beginning to end. For a historical fiction, it didn’t go all historian on the reader. Instead it held the readers hand and explained everything in a way which one with no prior knowledge of the plantation era, could understand. Dana, the main character, is one which any self-confident female can connect with. She is strong, determined, and knows exactly what is she has to do. In the end, I have to say that this is an absolute must read for everyone above the age of 16.

Final Word:

Captivating, beautifully written with its simplicity, this is an all around fantastic book. It should be on everyone’s list of books to read before one dies.

Rating:

10/10

Recommended Readers:

Generally I would avoid saying this, since it’s a rather general statement. Except for this book, it’s rather appropriate. Everyone above the age of 16. I won’t lie, this is a book about the time in which African Americans were slaves. We weren’t exactly the nicest to them, and this is shown/told in the book.

If You Enjoyed This Then Try:

The Time Travelers Wife

Welcome Wanderers of Fiction

Come one! Come all! To a place so full of wonder that it defies all rules of logic. For a moment shed the burdens of reality, and join me in a world overflowing with beauty. Tell me now, what is your taste? Dark secrets forged in a the velvet of night? Satin whispers of liquid devotion and fiery ardor? Perhaps it is of emerald forests, where colors flutter between leaves like the brush of sunlight? Can you feel the shivers of anticipation run up your spine? Is your pulse racing in excitement? Are you dying to know just what am I speaking of?

I do hate to ruin good surprises, but if you all insist…books my dear sirs and ladies. All of these experiences can be found under the covers of each and every paper delight. Words of black ink, scrawled elegantly across pages that seem almost endless. Some leave us yearning to know more, all aquiver with desire. Others are like a satisfying four course meal, leaving the readers content and at ease. Each story triggers new emotions, new sensations, for a moment we the readers are like newborn babes. Reveling in all of these unique feelings, how rare a beauty.

It is unfortunate, that many of us are hesitant to try something new. For we become hooked like an addict, to what is like a security blanket. One author brings us comfort, we’re frightened to step out of this home we’ve made. It is my hope to soothe such terror that seems to grip the human heart. I am here to help you get a little peek under the covers, so perhaps you will see that it isn’t such a terrible thing, to try something new. Fiction telling is a genre filled with unceasing variety, it is our duty as readers to search them all out.

So let us begin our journey together my friends and fellow readers. Here is just the first step into a realm that we have yet to fully comprehend. My hope, is that by the end, we will all come out with a new vigor to reading. So please, sit back, read, and enjoy. Permit me to be your guide, to these books that await you, onwards my friends…Here we go!