Alex Gordon (2)

After reading Gideon by Alex Gordon, my expectations were very high for Jericho. Any fears I had were unwarranted. Jericho is the second book of this supernatural thriller series and I was just as enraptured with Lauren’s continuing story as I had hoped to be.

Gavin should have heeded the warnings…Phantom orchids…shelf fungus…on his search for a photo of Jericho for his soon-to-be website. Being a photographer and blogger, I love it. Alex adds special bits throughout the story, making show more it a novel that rises above the rest.

In Gideon, Lauren was “called” from her home on the West Coast to Gideon, Illinois. Now she is being “called” back…to Oregon to be more precise.

The evil is subtle, whispering all the things you want to here, offering all the things your heart desires. I am captured, taken on the winds of flight, soon to be in Portland and meeting the Carmody Group. Which side are they on? Good or evil? I hope Lauren is fully prepared for Witch Camp.

Organized witchcraft is not Lauren’s forte. She operates by the seat of her pants. I loved watching her grow and develop from being unaware of her powers to laying her life on the line to take down evil and save us all.

Alex Gordon’s storytelling gift is alive and well in this wonderful novel of paranormal horror. Sometimes I forgot that it wasn’t real. I can hardly wait to read more as the ending left the story with plenty more tales to be told, all while wrapping up the current story.

I received a copy of Jericho by Alex Gordon in return for an honest review.

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***This book was reviewed for San Francisco Book Review***

Alex Gordon’s Jericho is a gripping paranormal mystery reminiscent of Preston and Child’s works, with a hearty dash of Lev Grossman and Stephen King thrown in the mix. Lauren Reardon nee Mullins is now Mistress of Gideon. As a Child of Endor, she is charged with protecting the thin places between the planes. But something dark is brewing halfway across the country, in Oregon. Lauren leaves Gideon in care of its former Mistress, show more and follows the call, determined to stop whatever darkness may be trying to breach the planes. What she finds are disappearances going back many decades.

Beware fallen Jericho. The mining enclave hidden deep in the forests of Carmody Peak harbor many secrets. After being invited by Gene Kaster to join a group of magically inclined people for a mountain retreat at Alexander Carmody’s palatial aeyrie home, Lauren finds more than she expected. The retreat façade hides several hidden agendas, by Carmody, Kaster, and others. They aren't the only ones either. A shade from Carmody’s past ups the ante for all, hoping to draw Carmody's daughter, Nyssa, to it. It will take the combined efforts of Lauren and her retreat companions to settle the issue using all their wits and skill.

I absolutely loved this book! I requested to review it on name and genre alone, since my blog is Port Jericho, after a place in my own writing. To me, that's a lucky title! My only disappointment lay in that this is the second in the series. Gordon does a marvellous job of adding in needed information without it feeling like an information dump. It flowed naturally, as a great writing should. I've since acquired Gideon, and am looking forward to devouring it as quickly as I did Jericho. A note to the grammarians out there, the author utilises sentence fragments as part of her writing style. I usually find this quite annoying, but here was used well. Not once did I get irritated over it.

🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻 Highly recommended for fans of anything by Douglas Preston and/or Lincoln Child, of Supernatural, the X-Files, Wayward Pines. show less

Source: HarperCollins
Original: Old Bat's Belfry

In the past a mistake was made. An evil was created. An evil that is now stalking Lauren. Secrets, for good or ill, have been kept for generations. Secrets Lauren must now unravel before she too becomes just another victim of an ancient wrong.

♦ The Story. Lauren is a smart, sophisticated young lady just trying to make her way in this world. But when her father dies she discovers that along with his estate, he has left her with a lot of show more unanswered questions. Questions that can only be answered if she goes back to where he was born.

Gideon, Illinois is where the answers lie. The place where it all began. A place with a violent past and an uncertain future.

But there are people who don't want those answers to be discovered, and one evil being that does...

♦ My Thoughts. Once again I have stepped outside of my comfort zone. And I wasn't disappointed.

Gideon is steeped in history. It is a place where few modern amenities function and it is doubtful that its residents would use them if they did. While there are a few conveniences like pickup trucks and snowmobiles, this is an isolated town. A town living in the past. A town I frequently forgot existed in the here and now.

But that is what I want in a book -- escape from the present. Gideon delivered that escape with an relentless barrage of chills and thrills, mystery and mayhem.

♦ What I Liked. I loved the pace of this novel. It was like watching a rose unfold in slow motion. Granted it was a black rose... But the description still applies. Layer upon layer of history, lore, worldbuilding, mystery and intrigue, all immerge at a pace that keeps the book in your hand and the real world at bay.

The characters too have layers and those layers also unfold slowly but steadily. Fifty shades of gray takes on a whole new meaning in this story. Everything is gray. The border between right, wrong and indifferent are never clear. The line between life and death is murky. Even the evil entity has understandable motives.

Or does it?

Just when you think you know, another layer is revealed and you question everything all over again. I loved every minute of the experience.

♦ What I didn't like. I'm racking my brain on this one and I'm coming up blank. I can't even come up with anything other people might not like.

I did try.

♦ Conclusion. I don't read a lot of horror and I pretty much never enjoy Urban Fantasy or Paranormal. However, this book was an exception. The story is saturated with history, lore, witchcraft and a town that time forgot. I had no problem with full immersion. Had the story frequently crossed back over to more "modern" environs it would have lost me.

Instead I got lost in it. show less

Lauren’s fate is sealed with the death of her father. He tried to protect her, but the lure for answers about death and danger surrounding her beckons her to Gideon, where He waits.

Alex Gordon”s story takes us from Seattle, Washington, to Gideon, Illinois.

Gideon was a crossroads for evil.

HE is surrounded by woods and darkness, where the dead don’t stay dead. Have I hooked you yet?

The town’s people job was to keep the darkness from crossing over.

Could Lauren be the one to stop HIM for show more good? Would innocence and naivety in the ways of evil and magic win out?

From the 1800s and burning at the stake to cell phones, potions and spells, evil rises and good does it’s best to prevail.

Both good and evil characters will die, so be careful who you get attached to and be prepared to grieve for the characters taken before their time.

I was a bit slow to get involved, but once Lauren traveled to Gideon, I found the pace picking up and my need to know what happens next rising to such a high level I found it hard to put the book down.

BUT…the story is not over and I am so happy to have Book II, Jericho, here at my side, ready to crack open and see what challenge faces Lauren next. I wrote that in my notes, but I reviewed Jericho before Gideon. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know. LOL

Gideon wraps up the story in a great way and I feel it can stand alone, but I rated Jericho 5 stars, so I think ,once you begin, you would have to know more.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Gideon by Alex Gordon.

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