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The Dead Whisper On / BethanyReviewed by Gail Welborn. . .this spine-tingling faith-based chiller becomes one of those page-turners you can't put down.Canada Mac lifted the overflowing can to heave its contents into the sanitation truck when she thought she heard a raspy voice whisper, "Seven o'clock, The Mint," her dad's favorite watering hole. She lowered the garbage can to the ground, and spun around only to see a shadowy swirl of mist merge with the garbage truck's shadow. It had sounded like her father's voice, but that wasn't possible. He died eleven years ago. He had promised to contact her from the "other side," but hadn't, though she'd spent many wakeful nights waiting. She wanted to believe because she lived with the ache of his loss every day. Could her father have found a way to call out to her after all these years? Join Canada Mac, former explosives-miner in the copper and precious metal mines of Butte, Montana, now sanitation engineer after the town's glory days of mining faded away. When she agrees to join the secretive network of what she believes are the living dead… to find her father. Now she lives in a junk-filled trailer on the outskirts of town, is alienated from her mother, and drives a 1972 Dodge Charger as she begins her first mission working with the Shadows. Completely unaware of what the ensuing tasks will demand of her, or how the unexplained epidemic of spontaneous combustions of neighbors and friends that leave small piles of smoking soot will shock her senses. She had to know if the voice was indeed her father. Add the Shadows who whisper to her, mysterious Keros who guides her, ghosts that haunt her and a golem that terrifies her, and this spine-tingling faith-based chiller becomes one of those page-turners you can't put down. Hines' contemporary supernatural fantasy centers on a battle of good versus evil. It shows Canada Mac's transformation from a grieving young woman into a strong, intelligent and clever leader, as she battles the demons from her past that threaten to overtake her beloved town. Hine's underlying message is one of hope and learning to trust yourself and others. Hines' strong religious connotation is in the vein of Stephen King's The Stand. |
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About Gail Welborn Visit Gail's website. |
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The Dead Whisper On / BethanyReviewed by Karri ComptonThe reader will be surprised, perhaps a bit confused, and possibly a little freaked out by this story.Butte, Montana's glory days are gone-mining has dwindled down to nothing and its dear Berkeley Pit, once yielding copper and other precious metals, is now a lake of hazardous contaminants. "Canada Mac" MacHugh, a miner turned sanitation worker, has waited 11 years for her father, Bud MacHugh, to contact her from the grave. One morning at work, a wispy, shadowy swirl speaks her name and asks to meet with her later on that day. Canada has little trouble believing that Bud really exists on the other side and has finally contacted her. She longs to be with him so much that she agrees to fake her own death in order to join his organization of the undead. Having put away her old life, she associates herself with her father's operatives. Her job now is to help prepare people all over the United States for disaster and give hope to those who have survived one. But trouble lies in wait for the citizens of Butte, who start to spontaneously combust throughout town. What is causing this deadly event and can it be stopped? Join Canada in her adventure to make sense of the world of shadows, the stranger who stalks her at every turn, and the plight of her beloved Butte. Though I love novels with twists, turns, and slap-you-upside-the-face moments, it's hard to write a thorough review of them without giving too much away. So suffice it to say the reader will be surprised, perhaps a bit confused, and possibly a little freaked out by this story. For many of us, that's a great thing. I remember thinking repeatedly while reading this book: "This is so Koontzian, really Koontzian,"-referring, of course, to Dean Koontz' penchant for weird supernatural phenomena. For the record, I enjoy Hines more. After all, it only takes so many homicidal maniacs chasing regular Joes around the country until I'm ruined. Hines, in addition to putting out haunting and suspenseful stuff, can bring up questions that will keep one pondering for an undetermined amount of time. He also has an awesome interactive website and message board with perks for those readers who want to plunge in headlong to the world that is T. L. Hines. |
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About Karri Compton View this review and more at: www.kcreviews.blogspot.com |
©2006-09
Susan Sleeman
Susan Sleeman
is the author of Nipped in the Bud, available May of 2009 from Heartsong Presents: Mysteries, an imprint of Barbour Publishing.
