Review: Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams

Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams (Oracle #1)

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Synopsis from Goodreads
TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER.
As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi’s Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try.
Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man’s life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson’s daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself—from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within. . . .

 Amazon  US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK(£3.99) | The Book Depository US/UK

9/10

* * *

If you fancy reading a cross between Silence of The Lambs and Dean Koontz, this book is for you.

I was pleasantly surprised by Alayna WIlliams when instead of typical urban fantasy I've stumbled  onto a gripping psychological thriller.  I will have to hunt down the author's other books written under the pen name Laura Bickle and read them as well.



Tara is a psychic whose powers work through Taro, she belongs to a secret society Delphi's Daughters - prophets and sorceresses, and she is an ex-FBI profiler. She quit her successful career when a serial killer she was investigating cut her up and buried her in a shallow grave to saturate his flowers with her blood. Only miraculously she escaped, and is still trying to recover her piece of mind.

However when an old friend asks her to get involved into an FBI case of a missing scientist who was researching the dark matter, she can not refuse. The Delphi's Daughter think that in wrong hands his discovery will destroy the world as we know it, and they want someone on the inside to prevent it.

Damaged and fragile, Tara starts a very dangerous journey along with an FBI agent Li and a missing scientist's daughter. They are facing treachery within Delphi's Daughters and a very powerful enemy within military forces that wants to utilise the dark matter, - the odds are against them...

Tara is not easy to warm up to, but she's got the inner sense of what's right, she is very human and humanly weak, which is refreshing for UF genre.

This is a very good, evenly paced thriller. The paranormal aspect is reduced to a minimum, and instead the book concentrates on character and plot development. I also found different Taro interpretations really interesting and would love to read more. The second book, Rogue Oracle, came out last year.
Very much recommended.

* * *
Очень хорошая книга получилась, такой напряжённый, полный действия триллер, в котором есть немного от Молчания Ягнят и немного от Дина Кунца.

Здесь также минимальное количество паранормала.

Тара - главная героиня, принадлежит к секретному сообществу Дельфийских Дочерей - волшебниц и предсказательниц, она также бывший профайлер ФБР, что ушла в отставку после того, как серийный убийца, за которым она охотилась, поймал  её, изрезал и похоронил в гробу, чтоба она истекла кровью, которая "удобрила" бы его  драгоценные цветы. Только чудом Таре удалось сбежать и теперь она пытается оправиться от физических и психологических травм.

 Однако когда старый друг семьи просит её взяться за дело о пропавшем учёном, что исследовал и экспериментировал на антиматерии для военных, Тара не может отказаться, так как Дельфийские Дочери предсказали, что если его исследования попадут не в те руки, мир окажется непоправимо разрушен, и им нужно, чтобы Тара эту катастрофу предотвратила.

А дальше начинается напряжённый триллер, с кучей действия, интересным противостоянием между Тарой и одной из волшебниц, предавшей секретное сообщество в погоне за властью. Бесконечные расклады Таро,  харизматичный партнёр Тары, агент Ли, и растерянная дочка учёного - этой троице престоит перехитрить своих врагов, уничтожить открытие учёного и вылезти из самой передряги невредимыми.

Интересно. Вторая книга вышла в прошлом году. Буду читать и вам советую. Алайна Уильямс также пишет под псевдонимом Лаура Бикл.


Comments

  1. I think you will love the Alayna Williams and Laura Bickle books - they were such a suprise discovery for me and much underrated! Her characters are so human and different from usual UF heroines. Great review - more people should know her books! :-)

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  2. I liked this one and the sequel, well maybe not as much as you but it was a nice story I agree.

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  3. Oh! That is an interesting combination for this one. :) I do have this and the second book on my shelf waiting for me as well. :) Do look forward to it. :) Thank you!

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