Waking Hours (The East Salem Trilogy)

Title:  Waking Hours (The East Salem Trilogy) 

Author:  Lis Wiehl

Genre:  Fiction—Adult, Mystery, Thriller Detective

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson

Format:  Kindle

Release Date:  October 4, 2011 (subject to change)

Historic East Salem may not be the sleepy little town it seems. Things are a bit off, especially when it comes to the supernatural.  Forensic psychiatrist Dani Harris and former football star Tommy Gunderson form an uneasy alliance in order to solve the tragic murder of a local teenage girl. All of the evidence points to a group of teenagers, a group that doesn’t remember a thing about the night of the girl’s murder.  Dani and Tommy begin to realize that there may be more to the murder than they realize and that perhaps, the evil involved may be more than human.

Waking Hours is part mystery and part thriller with a dash of supernatural thrown in. This book successfully pulls the elements of a murder mystery and a supernatural thriller together and weaves a story so compelling and entertaining that I could not put it down. The plot moves at a quick pace, weaving mystery after mystery. It never gives too much away, only hinting at what is to come. The characters are smart and engaging, you really care what happens to them. Perhaps the best part of the characters in Waking Hours is how real they seem. They make mistakes, they doubt themselves, they suffer and they love. The hint of supernatural in the story was perfect, not overwhelming or silly. It was so believable that, at times, I found myself looking around to see if I was alone. There is nothing better than a story that seems so real you think you see shadows around every corner. And Waking Hours is that story.

I highly recommend Waking Hours to everyone. It was a perfect read—perfectly scary, perfectly paced and perfectly entertaining. I was excited to discover that this is just the first of a trilogy. I anxiously await the next book!