Three stars (of five)
After completing a stellar thriller in THE MAGPIES, Edwards is back with another mind-twisting story. Marie Walker has vanished! Not just from her place of employment or her flat, but from everywhere. Her new boyfriend, newspaper photographer Richard Thompson, is convinced he can find her, even if it means going to the ends of the earth to piece things together. Marie has long been an advocate of a celestial world beyond mainstream acceptance, with UFOs and interactions with visitors. Richard, who does not share these beliefs, must wrestle with them on a daily basis while he continues to fall in love with Marie. When Richard learns of some extremely underground goings-on related to visitors and The Chorus, he does a little investigating of his own, in search of the love of his life. What Richard discovers blows his mind and will surely leave the reader wondering what twists and turns brought them to this part of the story. Fans of The Magpies will not likely rush out to praise this book, though it surely takes all kinds to create a solid fan base for an author.
Had this been the first Edwards book I read, I would likely have passed and moved on to another fiction writer. However, having seen the potential, I am able to see what Edwards CAN and surely WILL do with his other work and excuse this bump in the road. While Edwards defends that Marie could have been in any sort of cult, the presentation of alien cult experiences and the filthy underbelly of one of the oddest branches of pornography to my knowledge, my original thought “Well then!” stands firm.
Ok Mr. Edwards, everyone’s due at least one odd book. I’ll let this slide and get back to sinister thrillers. I hope we have a winner waiting for us.
Book Reviews to Ponder 