Rogue Oracle
Rogue Oracle
Alayna Williams, 2010
New Release! Copy provided by the publisher for review.
Premise: Tara is an oracle, with the talent to see the future in the cards. She uses her talent to help her work as a forensic psychologist. She'd worked for a government agency until the time she helped profile a serial killer who ended up attacking her. Since then she's been trying to stay out of Special Projects, but now her sometime lover has a new case that needs her special gifts.
I hadn't read the previous book in this series (Dark Oracle), but I didn't feel lost at all. Kudos for books that can stand alone or work together.I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was a quick read, and a page-turner. It says urban fantasy on the spine, but I might call it a paranormal crime thriller. It reminded me strongly of the Diana Tregarde books by Mercedes Lackey. There's horror and action, and romance as well, but romance is not the core of the book by a long shot.
I really liked getting inside Tara's head: the use of description to show her perception was really well done. It felt right that she should have that kind of instant analysis, between her talent and her training.
Aquila nodded. He laced his hands before him on his blotter. Tara noticed that the blotter was full of notes – an indicator that he didn't fully trust the sleek computer sitting on his desk. One of his square hands was adorned with a wedding ring, and his red tie was the only bright spot of color in the room. There were no photographs of his wife and family to watch him. Tara could understand his desire to shield his family from his work. – pages 37-38She thinks a little like a supernaturally inclined Holmes, and I enjoyed that.
The only problem I had with the book was the few chapters that didn't follow Tara or the villain. The other characters were fine, but I didn't need as much from their perspective. Especially the love interest Harry. He was fine, but not interesting to me.
Overall it was a fun read with an enjoyably creepy tone.
4 Stars – A Very Good Book
This sounds like a fun book. I'm not a big thriller or mystery fan for some reason, but this sounds like an interesting concept. It's nice to have a book that's not just about romance.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book as well. And I liked the fact that I didn't feel lost since I hadn't read the first book as well. Great review!
ReplyDelete@Alison: I enjoyed this one quite a bit, a nice mix of horror elements (particularly surrounding the villain) and other supernatural stuff. And I know how you feel: I don't even read that much romance and I'm feeling overwhelmed by its current ubiquity. There is a romantic storyline as well, but it's in addition to the other plots.
ReplyDelete@Samantha: Thanks!