TITLE: Saints in the
Shadows
AUTHOR: Alana CashISBNs: 13: 978-1497511170
10: 1497511178
GENRES: Psychological/Paranormal/Literary Fiction
Reviewed by Don Grant originally for Gut Reaction Reviews and Amazon
Madame
Budska or Maud Strand……… ****
Wow.
Sometimes one finds a diamond in the rough. Having been asked to review this
book I bought it for my kindle as I was drawn to the description which said it
“dabbles in provocative subjects such as psychic phenomena, economics, morality,
masochism, color, jazz, history, and a bit of romance with an NYPD detective”.
I was not disappointed.
First,
let me talk about the negative aspect of the book. The author would have made
this even better with just a bit more editing and maybe one more pass with a
copy editor. Each scene change has a heading which in the beginning was
distracting but I will say as the story developed this was not as
bothersome.
The
story itself is gripping and I found it hard to put down. The writer draws you
in quickly and at times I forgot I was reading a work of fiction. If you have
ever seen a film with a famous actor who makes you forget that you are watching
them act, then you know what I mean. The transition from past to present was
easy to follow and never “pulled” me out of the story.
The
character, Maud Strand, is one I would like to read more about. She seemed to
me, to be more interesting than Madame Budska. Based on the title the author
seems to disagree, hopefully she will change her mind.
The
ending was slightly rushed and left me wondering about what was going to happen
to Maud. Maybe it all wrapped up too fast. But I will say I look forward to more
books by Alana Cash. This gets a well earned four
stars!
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