"A riveting paranormal suspense, which carries a timeless message."
FLYING BY NIGHT is the story of a four souls
connected through multiple lifetimes by love, and a legacy
of violent death. In their current incarnation, which is
set in the present, three of these souls have formed a
family, by choice, bound together once more by that love,
and the worship of their Goddess. Kestrel (Hawkins) Firehawk, the narrator, is a pagan woman
and hypnotherapist, who loves and is loved by the two men
in her life. Grant (Sullivan) Firehawk, a lawyer, had come
to her several years ago to learn stress management. He'd
recognized his soulmate. She was air, and he was fire. They
married, and later met Cedric (Wiley) Firehawk, who is a
craftsman. The two men had formed an instantaneous bond,
becoming as close as brothers overnight. Kestrel had cured
him of his smoking habit, and the three had become
inseparable. Cedric was water. He too had loved Kestrel in
the past. She and Cedric had handfasted, bringing him into
their family as an equal, their third. This was an unusual
arrangement for pagans as for Christians, however it hadn't
violated their personal vows, and they were happy. So happy
in fact that they'd agreed to add a fourth. If their
Goddess willed, a child would be conceived on this night,
Beltane, a celebration of life. The evening had gone badly from the start. Kestrel had been
worried all day about her choice of Year King. Only one of
her guys could be the child's father. She loved them both,
and didn't want to hurt either of them. Grant, who had been
late coming home that night, was already distraught. He'd
been kept working after hours again, sabotaged by the
boss's daughter who had grown bored with her own husband,
and had transferred her attentions to Kestrel's. Gloria had
gone as far as to stalking him. She'd followed him home
once, disrupting a celebration. She'd interrupted their
magick at a critical moment. Cedric, who had the gift of
sight, had declared that the spell of protection they'd
been casting had failed because of it. In retrospect, it
seems he was right. Cedric had been uneasy all evening, and once the ceremony
was completed, he had sent Kestrel out on a superfluous
errand. While she was away, the two men were brutally and
ritually slain with her ceremonial athame. Another soul
from their past had found them. One who hated. Devastated
by her loss, Kestrel heeds the advice of her Goddess,
fleeing to the protection of the Coven of the Jeweled
Dragon. Her life is in grave danger, both from the
murderer, and the police. Unlike her two men, Kestrel
mostly had kept to herself. She would become the primary
suspect. The coven had accepted their mandate to protect her, and
had kept her successfully hidden until a crisis forced them
to surface. Evil was quick to find Kestrel once more. Again
she was forced to flee. Investigating the homicides are Detective Dylan "Finn"
McCool, and his partner Robyn Porter. Dylan knows nothing
of pagan beliefs, and surmises that a satanic ritual had
taken place on the grounds of the Firehawk residence on
that fateful night. When Robyn attempts to educate him
about the Firehawks' philosophies, he is surprised by her
knowledge of earth religions. Confusing him as well, are
his strong feelings of connection to the victims he had
never met. While he is still struggling to understand what
the trio had been involved in, Robyn shocks him with twin
revelations. The woman that Dylan had always thought was a
fine, upstanding Christian, the partner and best friend
he'd bared his soul to on many occasions, had kept a secret
from him. She too was a pagan, and she needed him to know
because she loved him. Deep within his psyche he'd suspected that he had them, but
Dylan had not yet accepted his own personal feelings, for
Robyn. He'd been hurt before, and her revelation is simply
too much for him to handle. He feels betrayed by her
deception. His response drives her out of his life, and
ultimately the police force. No one wanted to partner a
witch. By the time Dylan does his research, and reconciles
himself to his deep feelings for her, it is too late. At a
crossroad in his life, Dylan embarks on a new path. As Finn
of the Craft, his destiny leads him back to Kestrel
Firehawk, and into the path of a twisted zealot, a witch
hunter, reenacting a gruesome mandate from the past. Will
history repeat itself, or will they end the cycle of hate
and violence once and for all? On September 11. 2001, hate revealed its face to the world.
Americans went to sleep that night knowing that complete
strangers despised them, and what they stood for. Enough to
kill them. Enough to die doing so. The terrorists had taken
a faith based on peace, and twisted its teachings to
justify mass murder. Because this attack was on a nation,
it received intense media coverage. We woke up on the
12th, a changed people ... sadder, wiser, and warier.
Senseless tragedy affects people that way, as Finn, the
hero of this tale, learned the hard way. Still many of us
remain blissfully unaware that this kind of hatred exists
in our own backyard, experienced by individuals who, like
the Firehawks, dare to follow a different path. They are
persecuted due to ignorance and fear, because people fail
to make the effort to understand them. Ignorance and fear
breed prejudice. Prejudice breeds hatred. Hatred destroys.
This is the powerful message contained in FLYING BY NIGHT. Lorna Tedder is a multi-published author who has written
novels for three major romance houses. This tale is a
change of pace for her, a book of the heart. FLYING BY
NIGHT is marvelously well written. Riveting and
suspenseful, the plot is both timely and timeless. The lead
characters are believable and sympathetic. Readers will be
able relate to them on a very basic level, to experience
their suffering, and revel in their triumphs. Ms. Tedder
gets her message across without preaching, and adequately
conveys her conviction that good and bad members can be
found in all religions. It is a tale that keeps one on the
edge of their seat, and is virtually impossible to put down. Lucretia, who is a secondary character in FLYING BY NIGHT,
will be featured in the next novel in the Coven of the
Jeweled Dragon series. It will be entitled, PRAYING FOR
SOLSTICE. Copyright © 2002
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted July 23, 2002
|
