Angel in the Dark: A New Age Mystery [Hardcover]

Shamus Award nominee Dain (Dead Man's Hand) offers a refreshing, self-styled "New Age" mystery, with a glimpse into the world of spiritual consciousness and apparitions of the past and present. In an effort to reestablish herself after the sudden death of her husband, Tim, Mariana Morgan joins a meditation circle in Los Angeles led by her friend Karella. The group persuades Mariana to visit eccentric psychic Suzanne. Mariana is initially skeptical, but she can't deny the truths that come to light through their sessions. The spirits who speak through Suzanne to Mariana answer difficult questions and quell her guilty feelings about Tim's death. Yet they also introduce concepts alien to Mariana, telling her that she is a natural healer who must put her gift to work helping those in need. Mariana is puzzled, though after a series of bizarre, unsettling events, including the "freak" deaths of two group members, she realizes that Suzanne's spirits may be right. It appears the group is under attack by a killer who assaults his victims' souls. Mariana faces the dilemma of what to do with the healing energies that rub off on everything she touches, knowing she must take action to stop the negative forces that plague her community. Though at times circuitous, Dain's entertaining novel does a convincing job of describing Mariana's ethereal journey toward love and peace. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mariana Morgan, unraveled by her husband's "random" murder and the loss of her job, turns to the psychic world, not so much to find her husband's murderer as to regain some order in her life. She joins a meditation group, consults a psychic channeler, then learns she's a healer and asks for angelic help. She ultimately develops her healing powers to pursue a killer who attacks through the psyche. The intriguing New Age subject matter (including flaky characters and at least one fatal "accident") is related in smooth, down-to-earth prose; from the author of the Freddie Neal mysteries.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

After her husband Tim is gunned down at an ATM, Mariana Morgan's life falls apart. She stops talking to her mother, keeps putting off lunch with her best friend Rachel, moves to the most isolated spot in Los Angeles County, and barely plays with her cats. Her depression deepens when she goes to a psychic, doesn't understand most of what she's told, then goes back and becomes part of the circle of New Age devotees who meet once a week for channeling, rainbow meditation, chakra cleansing, tarot readings, and meaningful silences. Bad things happen here, too: Dr. Dan, the sensitive, newly divorced chiropractor, becomes a hit-and-run victim; Karelia, the horoscope caster, turns out to be addicted to an abusive lover; and someone ransacks Don Riley's emporium, the Aquarian Moon. Mariana worries it might all be her fault. Even though she's been labeled a natural-born healer, she can't stop a car crash and a baby dying. Is it her bad karma, or a hidden enemy? A romance with an adult student in an English class she's teaching brings Mariana back within hailing distance of reality; then, after much discussion of personal responsibility and choice, and insight into the psychic killer from Lulu, the spirit that speaks through tongue-studded Michael, all is revealed. Dain, author of the more hard-boiled p.i. series featuring Freddie O'Neal (Lay It on the Line, not reviewed, etc.), shows genuine insight into racial and cultural prejudice in the classroom discussions. But the crystal-clanking, out-of-body experiences, and thought vibrations will tip off even readers whose Ouija board is in the shop. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.