AUTHOR: Joe Talon
PUBLISHED BY: Mirador Publishing
Finding a body on Exmoor’s
Dunkery Bea covered in occult tattoos leads retired Sergeant Major Lorne Turner on a pilgrimage of sacrifice and
corruption. As an ex SAS soldier,
Turner’s instincts are heightened having been sharpened by his time on the
desert battlefields. He is also waging his own personal battle with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Confrontations with Detective
Inspector Shaw, who believes the apparent occult symbols on the deceased man
are nothing more than faked staging, embolden Turner to have faith in his own instincts
being correct and challenges him to prove the police wrong.
The awakening of a primeval
spirit line which seeps down from Dunkery Beacon, the highest point on Exmoor
to the woodland church, nestled in Culbone, a tiny hamlet consisting of no more
than the parish church and a few houses located on the Somerset coast, releases
the hidden powers of the local gentry and the mystical secrets of the regions
ancient, wild moorland. It seems it's murmuring departed are pursuing justice.
Turner, ex SAS soldier and
survivalist trainer turns to his best friend, vicar of the parish, Ella Morgan,
for support. They enlist the help of
pagan, Willow Hunter, whose past strongly affects their futures. Time is not on their side as they clash with
the unseen forces of Somerset’s aristocracy.
I was immediately drawn into this
Lorne Turner thriller; Talon’s writing style grabbed me from the first page to
the last proving it to be a real page-turner. I eagerly picked up where I’d left off and wanted more. The protagonist
and supporting characters are well defined and believable. The hero maybe somewhat flawed, yet he is authentic
enough to be feasibly extraordinary. His adversary is the sort of individual readers will love to hate and well
-rounded female characters that have a believable place in the storyline add to
the plot. Gay female vicar, Ella Morgan as Lorne’s closest friend, gives Turner
a humanitarian characteristic he might not have had if she was not featured as
his best friend in the action. Talon knows how to build characters so they are
human and believable and as such, he makes readers keen to know what happens to
them next.
I found the story fascinating;
rather dark and scary with its intriguing occult slant without it being a
horror story. Readers are kept guessing if the mysterious events are factual or
if they are because of Turner’s PTSD.
Talon’s poetic use of metaphors
is joyous and readers will no doubt become immersed, as I did, in his descriptive
prose of the foggy moorlands and rainy landscapes of Exmoor. His graphic style
will enamour readers to be tempted to visit the area to re-live the experience
for real.
This is a mystery with a bit of a
rough edge to its main characters which makes it attractive and credible. Readers of Stephen King will find it
engaging; a haunting, occult thriller with a twist. I thoroughly enjoyed it and
it left me wanting to read more of Lorne Turner and his exploits.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
No comments:
Post a Comment