"A Gripping Romantic Paranormal Thriller"
Carla Cook is no stranger to dark, contemporary gothic
style romances. Under her other pseudonym, Carla Cassidy,
she was the author of several titles in the Silhouette
Shadows line. Fans of this line (currently being reissued
as Dreamscapes), and dark paranormal romances, will relish
this new single title offering by a talented author. Club Diablo, Manhattan The Magician feared that he was losing his sanity. He had
good reason to fear. His mother had committed suicide when
he had been a mere boy. His father had suffered from a
debilitating mental illness until his death a short time
ago. Lucas Connelly had been a carpenter then, a trade he had
enjoyed, but his father's death had come with an unexpected
legacy. Now wealthy, Lucas was able to indulge his other
passion, magic. As a magician, he was second rate, but he
had a steady gig, and he intended to work hard and change
that. Then the visions began to come, at first as nightmares. He
had felt a sense of connection to the child who begged for
his aid, a connection that went beyond this lifetime. Then
it happened in waking, this time during a performance.
Perhaps he was going insane, but he had an urgent need to
find the child whose green eyes begged him to save her
soul. This time he had a name, Gina Marlowe, and if he
wasn't crazy he knew just where to find her. The need to
do so was urgent. He sensed that Gina was to be the
ultimate sacrifice to a malevolent entity. Long Island, The Hamptons Gina Marlowe had been afraid to go to sleep since the night
of her sixth birthday, when she had first flown outside her
body toward the voice that called her into the dark tunnel.
She didn't want to follow that voice. She was afraid that
if she did, she would never find her way back. Her mother,
Kathleen, had thought it was a typical childhood fear, or
perhaps a delayed reaction to Gina's father's sudden death,
ten months ago. All that changed the night she discovered
Gina not breathing in her bed. She'd rushed the child to
the hospital. Her worst fears were realized when the
defibrillator was rolled into Gina's room, but Gina had
stunned everyone by reviving spontaneously. Numerous
doctors and tests later, no explanation could be found for
Gina's episodes. Kathleen, however, had been approached by
two men who believed that they possessed key information
regarding her daughter's illness. She had turned them both
away. If she were to believe either of them, she would have
to accept a dire fate for her daughter as well. Keith Kelly, the reporter, had a personal reason for his
interest in the case. His own young daughter lay comatose
in a hospital after experiencing a series of episodes
similar to Gina's. She had talked of flying outside her
body, and her fear of the dark tunnel. Keith had
documentation of similar cases, and believed that if they
could help Gina, there was hope for the others. Kathleen
didn't want to believe that there was a connection between
the cases. Keith wouldn't rest until he had answers. What
he turns up will shock and horrify them all. Kathleen had rejected the Magician as well. Though he'd
claimed to know what was happening to Gina, and swore that
he alone could save her soul, she wanted none of his
tricks. But Lucas now knew that he wasn't going mad. He
also knew at first glance that he and Kathleen had tumbled
through many lifetimes together, lifetimes of love, and
devastating betrayal. He would wait for her to come to him,
and
prayed that it wouldn't be too late. When Gina's episodes began to occur in the daytime,
Kathleen found she would do anything to prevent her
daughter from becoming the next victim, even if it meant
allowing a stranger to move into her home to work with
Gina. She had to trust someone. It wasn't long before she
knew she was destined to love this man. Past history had
set the odds against them. Had she made a fatal mistake, or
would one man's magic wipe away lifetimes of pain? THE MAGICIAN is a unique, and gripping, romantic
paranormal
thriller that will hold the reader in its thrall until the
very last word. The reader will come face to face with true
terror as the plot unfolds and the perpetrator of evil is
revealed. Each will surely marvel at young Gina's
fortitude, experience Kathleen's doubts and fears as well
as Lucas's anger and despair, and shudder as they bear
witness to the mechanizations of a true madman. Copyright © 2002
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted July 9, 2002
|
