6
Oct132010
All Hallows Eve – BOOK REVIEW: ‘Dark & Disorderly’ by Bernita Harris
by Carolyn • Posted in 3 Star Reviews, All Hallows Eve 2010, Authors A-D, Book Reviews, Reviews by Laura, Urban Fantasy
Title: Dark and Disorderly
Author: Bernita Harris
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: May 2010
Ebook: 262 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Own Copy
Reviewed by: Laura
RATING: 6/10 – good
BACK COVER SUMMARY:
“I was standing there naked when my dead husband walked into my bathroom…”
Lillie St. Claire is a Talent, one of the rare few who can permanently dispatch the spirits of the dead that walk the earth. Her skills are in demand in a haunted country, where a plague of ghosts is becoming a civic nuisance.
Those skills bring her into conflict with frightened citizens who view Talents as near-demons. Her husband comes to see her as a Freak; so when Nathan dies after a car crash, she is relieved to be free of his increasingly vicious presence. Lillie expects to be haunted by Nathan’s ghost, but not to become Suspect #1 for her husband’s murder and reanimation.
But what’s most surprising of all is the growing attraction between her and psi-crime detective John Thresher. He thinks that Lillie killed Nathan–and Nathan must agree, because his zombie is seeking revenge. Now she and Thresher must work together to solve her husband’s murder–before his corpse kills her…
REVIEW:
In ‘Dark and Disorderly‘ the world is slightly different. Something has happened, a shift and now the ghosts of the dead are everywhere, spilling out into the streets and into people’s homes.
Lillie is a ‘Talent’, a person born with a supernatural ability that means she can put the dead to rest. However her gift is controversial, there are groups that believe she isn’t in fact putting the souls to rest, but destroying them instead. She is demonised and labelled as a freak, even by her now dead husband.
Lillie’s relationship with her husband was strained at best, abusive at its worst. So she can’t help but feel somewhat relieved at his unfortunate demise. But when she becomes the prime suspect for his murder things start to get a bit out of control.
The book opens with a bang, the action taking off straight away with the eerie arrival of Lillie’s zombie, dead husband intent on killing her. And it doesn’t stop from there, the novel is without a doubt action packed, as Lillie is thrown into one adrenalin pulsing scene after another.
Detective John Thresher from the psi-crime division is put in charge of the investigation into Lillie’s attack and her husband’s death. He’s an interesting character with more than a few secrets. There is a nice amount of chemistry bubbling away between him and Lillie which has some great potential for a growing love story. However, I was never quite sure where it was going. They were both hot and cold, trusting and non trusting, and John (Johnny) was such an enigma it was hard to get a grasp on him.
Despite the action, I struggled to get into the book at first. I can’t quite put my finger on why, as all of the ingredients of a good urban fantasy book were there.
This book was very much in two halves for me. In the first part I found myself counting the pages a little and it wasn’t until the second half that I became fully submerged in the story. The second part is brilliant, page turning, pulse pounding stuff. With a great ending that has more than a few unexpected plot turns.
I think the problem stems from the fact that things weren’t always explained as fully as they could have been. For example, there were some fascinating references to mythology and superstitions that were no longer really superstitions, that I wish they had been developed more. Lillie’s background and gift were never properly explored. I understand the need to hold back details and dangle the stick for later books in the series, but I wanted just a tiny bit more of that carrot.
VERDICT:
‘Dark and Disorderly‘ has a lot of potential for a new urban fantasy series. I really liked the two main characters Lillie and Johnny and the ending was an exciting roller coaster ride. While I do have a few reservations with it, I also find myself interested to see where it goes next and would still recommend it.
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6 Comments
The story does sound unusual, but it seems like a great read! Nice review. =)
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nice review, ive heard some good things about carina press.
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I have this book on my iPad waiting to be read – it sounds like my kind of book, and I love the cover.
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Oh thanks for this rec/review!
It sounds really good!
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@Dazzling Mage thank you. It's a story with lots of potential
@Fiction State of Mind I've downloaded a couple of Carina Press books & I'm becoming quite impressed with them
@Book Chick City I like the cover too
I think you'll like this one
@Yllektra you're welcome I'm glad you liked it!
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Great review!
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