Omens

Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Dutton

August 2013

ISBN: 978-0-525-95304-3

Pages: 486

Contemporary Paranormal Suspense, Romantic Elements

Olivia Taylor-Jones is twenty-four-years old and has the perfect life. She has an Ivy League education and is the only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family. She pursues philanthropy and volunteerism.  Olivia is also engaged to a young, handsome tech-firm CEO with political ambitions.

Olivia’s world is soon shattered when she learns she is actually adopted. Todd and Pamela Larsen are notorious serial killers that are serving life sentences. They are also Olivia’s real parents. Olivia decides to leave her once comfortable home to find out the truth about the Larsens when the news of them brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity for her fiancé and adopted family.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois. It is an old and cloistered community and it is taking a particular interest in Olivia. It is also interested in her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ pasts.

Gabriel Walsh is her mother’s former lawyer and together they focus on the Larsens’ last crime. The one that Olivia’s birth mother swears will prove their innocence. Gabriel and Olivia start investigating the case and Olivia soon finds herself using abilities that have been hidden since her childhood. The gifts make her both deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies and a valuable addition to Cainsville. It seems there are darker secrets behind the scenes in the her new home and the powers lurking in the shadows have their own plans for her.

This is a suspense story that starts out fast and doesn’t let up until the very end. It will keep readers turning the pages just to see what exactly is happening and just what is the real truth about the Larsens. The characters are complex and make for a story that is as intriguing as it is engrossing. It will also have readers reaching for the next book in the series to watch Olivia grow and find out just who she really is now and also to see just where Gabriel and Olivia end up.

I give this one 5 red roses

LRH