Redeeming the Night

It has been forty years since Ashley has joined the sisterhood, whose goal is to remove the dregs of society by removing the most corrupt men’s souls. She subscribes to this way of thinking until her protégé, who is learning to change her appearance at will, brings up the idea that some men can be redeemed. Ashley begins to pay more attention to the auras of less-corrupt individuals. She meets private detective Eric Adams by chance.  Eric also keeps a secret: transformed during the Bestial Butcher case a year ago, he is unable to give evidence in court due to supernatural abilities. He is there to help find a missing girl.

The charm of this story is that the author successfully balances the supernatural with recognizable everyday events in Chicago and Las Vegas. The characters’ gradual introductions, plausible interactions, and reactions lead to full immersion. The minor characters add to the ambiance, doing nothing to hinder the story’s pacing. Action scenes are painted for the mind’s eye. One can neither fault the balance between narrative and natural dialogue nor take issue with the back story given for each character. Scenes seamlessly fade from one to the next, prompting the reader to turn pages. Even when the odd question does arise, one remembers the nature of the story and continues to read with interest until it comes full circle to a satisfying conclusion.

Readers will lose themselves in this energetic tale, aided by an anchor of the realistic day-to-day. Five stars!!!

Heather R. Nielsen