Apr 122017
 

RT Book Reviews: Priest has a knack for writing likable, well-rounded characters and putting them through some unpleasant, creepy events. The bourbon-loving, easily flustered psychic Alice might be the author’s most purely endearing protagonist yet, and Tomas, the stricken but resolute tailor, is tremendously easy to root for as well. The depictions of the various fires and some other events are vivid and at times wince-inducing. While the immediate narrative here is wrapped up nicely by the end, readers may wish for some return trips to this version of Cassadaga, Fla.

Alice Dartle is able to talk to the deceased, read the future … and has zero interest in settling down. When she moves to the clairvoyant community of Cassadaga, Fla., to learn more and be among like-minded others, she begins to dream of a man ­ and fire. Tomás Cordero came home from the Great War hoping to return to his beloved wife. Now he is haunted by her memory, and an entity that is leaving him messages through fire. He is sure it’s his wife, but as the flames begin taking their toll and driving him toward Alice, it becomes increasingly likely that there’s something darker and much more dangerous at work.