Publishers Weekly
04/08/2024
Bestseller Roberts (Inheritance) returns with a busy supernatural thriller that stuffs in romance, murder, telekinesis, and a few handy tips on candle-making. When Thea Fox is 12 years old, her parents drive her and her brother to their grandmother Lucy’s bucolic Kentucky farm for a two-week stay. The night they arrive, Thea and Lucy are awakened by the same dream in which Thea’s parents are brutally murdered. The next morning, their joint nightmare comes true, and Thea’s vivid description of the dream helps the police track down the killer, Ray Riggs, who’s swiftly arrested, convicted, and sentenced to life in a maximum-security prison. As Thea grows up on Lucy’s farm, launches her career as a video game designer, and meets the love of her life, she remains haunted by psychic episodes similar to the one she and her grandmother shared—especially when Riggs starts infiltrating those episodes and forcing Thea to witness his own dark thoughts. Will she be able to shake his presence without meeting him face-to-face? Die-hard Roberts fans will get what they came for: there’s no shortage of romance, cliffhangers, or cottage-core rhapsodizing on offer. Those elements wind up fighting for space, however, and the plot never really catches fire. This is unlikely to win Roberts many new admirers. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (May)
From the Publisher
"Fans of Roberts’ enticing brand of storytelling will find everything they crave in her latest polished thriller, including compelling characters, an evocative, richly realized setting, and a captivating plot enlivened a generous dash of romance and just the right measure of nerve-jangling, nail-biting suspense. You don’t have to be a mind reader to predict Roberts’ latest will soon be on reserve and best-seller lists all around the country." —Booklist
"Roberts’ latest may move you to tears, or joy, or dread, or all three....A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil." —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"Die-hard Roberts fans will get what they came for: there’s no shortage of romance, [or] cliffhangers..." —Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-03-23
Roberts’ latest may move you to tears, or joy, or dread, or all three.
Every summer, John and Cora Fox visit Cora’s mother, Lucy Lannigan, in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky, leaving their children, 12-year-old Thea and 10-year-old Rem, for a two-week taste of heaven. The children love Grammie Lucy far more than John’s snooty family, which looks down on Cora. Lucy, a healer with deep Appalachian roots, loves animals, cooks the best meals, plays musical instruments, and makes soap and candles for her thriving business. Thea—who’s inherited the psychic abilities passed down through the women of Lucy’s family—has vivid magical dreams, one of which becomes a living nightmare when a psychopath robs and murders John and Cora as Thea watches helplessly. Thea’s description of the killer and her ability to see him in real time help the skeptical police catch Ray Riggs, who goes to prison for life. Although Thea and Rem go on to have a wonderful childhood with Grammie, Thea constantly wages a mental battle with Riggs, who tries to use his own psychic abilities to get into her mind. Over the years, Thea uses her imagination to become a game designer while the more business-minded Rem helps manage her career. Thea eventually builds a house near Lucy, where a newly arrived neighbor is her teen crush, singer-songwriter Tyler Brennan. Tyler has his own issues and is protective of his young son but slowly builds a loving relationship with Thea, whose silence about her abilities leads to a devastating misunderstanding. At first Thea tries to keep Riggs locked out of her mind. As her powers grow, she torments him. Finally, she realizes that she must win this battle and destroy him if she’s ever to have peace.
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.
