By the time I read half-way through
Soul Catcher, I couldn’t figure out who was coming or going, what the motivation of the characters was, and why this demon villain was oh so bad. The demon is so horrid because his goal in life is to torture the heroine to the point where she has gone crazy. Other than rolling my eyes and shaking my head in disgust, nothing about
Soul Catcher is worth recommending. And for the first time ever, in my history of reviewing I’m asking, how did this book get published? For the life of me I can’t figure it out why. Well, I have a good idea why because the author, also known as
Deborah Smith, who owns her own publishing house called
Belle Bridge Books published
Soul Catcher. That's the only thing that makes sense about this mess of a read.
The plot goes as follows: Livia Van Belane has more lives than she can count. She has been reincarnated over and over to the point where she is very damaged. She lives on the edge and has done it all, drinking till she passes out, popping pills and sleeping with strange men all to escape the nightmares that come to her each night. She is living on borrowed time because she's waiting for a demon she named Pig Face to find, torture and kill her. Pig Face and Livia have a great deal of history between them. Livia is what is known as a Soul Catcher, one who must rid the world of demons like Pig Face. Livia also has blackouts and doesn’t remember them, where she finds herself painting horrible pictures that make her sick. Her only hope is her soul mate, Ian.
Livia is scared of this Ian as well as those who try to help her because she thinks they are out to do her harm and will end up dead anyway. The only way Ian can help her is if she calls for him. And things become very complicated because when Pig Face finds her, he has taken over a body of a good looking guy who she has become attracted to. He tricks Livia and rapes her to the point where she needs stitches in every single hole you can think of. But before he can kill her, Ian is able to get rid of Pig Face by Livia calling for him. Livia barely makes it out alive and some strangers come along and take Livia under their wing while she recovers. For some reason Ian is now able to take over a body. But the body happens to be the one Pig Face used when he mutilated and raped Livia. So now Livia’s love from the past wants to help her, but he is inside a body of a demon rapist.
Livia keeps Ian at arms length as she trains in the arts of voodoo, dark magic and whatever else to finally eliminate Pig Face for good. Livia remembers when she and Ian first met and the bond have together as well of their interactions with Pig Face.
Soul Catcher had a great premise but was so boggled down with characters who have no dimension and a story with needless info dumping. Livia is a nasty character who would have been better as a villain. There is nothing redeeming about Livia and she goes through most of the book questioning her existence and why do all these horrible things happen to her. I really wanted to smack her at one point because she became so annoying. Scene after scene dragged in so many places and the action and snuff film like violence were so unnecessarily.
Soul Catcher is much like a horror movie where there is no plot or reason as the serial killer stalks the helpless co-eds just to see their blood run.
I guess this is supposed to be a type of story that should twist you up inside as you read to the point your both sickened and appalled by what Livia and Ian must do in order to be together. Ian was the most boring character of all. His voice and very small personality grated on my nerves, even more so than Livia. For once while reading an Urban Fantasy such as this, I wanted to villain to defeat the heroine so I knew there would be no continuation.
Soul Catcher is a harsh, grating on the nerves read and because of that my review is just like the book. If there is one book not to read or buy this year, Leigh Bridger’s
Soul Catcher is one of them.
(Belle Bridge Books)Final Grade: F
On the other hand,
A Circle of Souls, the debut novel by
Preetham Grandhi is a recommended read. This is a murder mystery that has a slight touch of the supernatural that also deals with past lives. Preetham makes sure that the plot is not boggled down with too much mention of spiritualism, but more importantly the quest to find a killer who has targeted the most vulnerable of victim- children.
A Circle of Souls would be of interest to those readers who enjoy crime dramas. Keep in mind though the murder deals with Janet, a nine year old girl, who because she was curious, was killed by an individual who thinks a higher being is making him kill, or sacrifice, in order to reach enlightenment. Called in on the case if FBI agent Leia Bines who works in a special unit dedicated to crimes against children. She may be the only hope in cracking this case and figure out why the small town of Newbury, Connecticut has been targeted by a possible serial killer.
Around the same time of the murder, Dr. Peter Gram, who works at Newbury General and Pediatric hospital has a very interesting patient. Seven-year old Naya Hastings has been brought to the emergency room after her parents found a sleepwalking Naya standing on the second-floor balcony where she was trying to climb over it. Lately Naya has been having strange dreams and Dr. Gram recommends Naya be committed for a few days where he can monitor her brain and figure out why she is having these dreams that may make her harm herself.
As Gram tries to diagnose Naya, she continues to have disturbing nightmares of a little girl named Janet who wants Naya to help her. Naya begins to draw pictures of her interactions with her dream friend Janet, and Gram comes to the conclusion that something bigger is at play. And when Gram hears about the murder of Janet, he begins to put the pieces together and soon is helping Leia with the case before the killer can strike again.
I was glued to the pages of
A Circle of Souls and had no clue who the killer was. Some of the blurbs I have read about this book compare Preetham’s writing to Hitchcock and I can certainly see the comparisons. There are twists and turns that bring in a supernatural element, especially in regards to Gram that is surprising. Gram may seem to be more of a secondary character in this all, but he becomes a very important focal point, even more so than Naya.
Preetham does have a skill at writing child characters and I enjoyed Naya and the way she looked at things and her interactions with Gram and that of her the poor murdered Janet. The only graphic scenes are in the beginning when Janet’s body is found.
If you like psychological thrillers,
A Circle of Souls really excels in this aspect.
(Sweetwater Books)
Final Grade: B+
don’t be too concerned. He’s really harmless. He can be your own personal night light because he glows in the dark. Or you can treat him like a potted plant. Better yet, he can be your own pet rock because of lack of personality and blank stare.
