- I was approached for a book tour on this book, and it looks interesting!
I also recommend:
- Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
Summary from GoodReads:
When Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days’ compassionate leave, her sister Dell’s ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her.
The sheriff says that Dell’s death was suicide, but Hallie doesn’t believe it. Something happened or Dell’s ghost wouldn’t still be hanging around. Friends and family, mourning Dell’s loss, think Hallie’s letting her grief interfere with her judgment.
The one person who seems willing to listen is the deputy sheriff, Boyd Davies, who shows up everywhere and helps when he doesn’t have to.
As Hallie asks more questions, she attracts new ghosts, women who disappeared without a trace. Soon, someone’s trying to beat her up, burn down her father’s ranch, and stop her investigation.
Hallie’s going to need Boyd, her friends, and all the ghosts she can find to defeat an enemy who has an unimaginable ancient power at his command.
My Review:
Lately, I haven’t been as into urban fantasy as I was in past years, but when I was approached with a request to check out Wide Open, I admit to being fascinated by not only the synopsis, but also the gorgeous cover. I’ve admitted it many times – a good cover can suck me in.
Deborah Coates had a fascinating idea for this book – the presence of lingering ghosts, the mystery of an unsolved murder of a sister of the protagonist, and other supernatural elements all can combine for an electrifying, fascinating story… but there was almost too much.
As I was reading, I found myself getting distracted, wondering if maybe there was too much. Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained – as long as I didn’t stop to think too hard. But I do stop to think when I read, and there just wasn’t enough of an explanation for what was happening.
It’s a fine line – that line that separates the real from the supernatural. It’s a hard one to walk because I understand that, as an author, you don’t want to reveal too much so holes aren’t poked into your story, but yet.. there still has to be something to make the story believable in its unbelievably (if that makes sense?). I think that Coates tried to do this – but the end felt rushed and unsettling, with a focus shifting toward another aspect of the story rather than the strangely large paranormal aspect.
I’d recommend Wide Open as a story that is entertaining as surface pleasure, but don’t go into it expecting for everything to be fully explained or, like me, you’ll end up a bit disappointed.
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