The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann KrentzMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review
Harpers and the Wellses hadn’t been known to socialize for four generations.
I couldn't find anywhere this was labeled as part of a series (Arcane and Fogg Lake are mentioned) but it definitely reads as an off-shoot of one, I'm saying prepare to feel lost if you don't have any familiarity with the aforementioned. This was a paranormal mystery loaded up with a ton of psychic additives. Sophy and Luke, and Luke's dog Bruce, are from rival families but end up working together as they at first are searching for Sophy's aunt and Luke's uncle but then get swept into a decades old plan to, I guess rule the world?, wasn't quite sure. This was written well, because Krentz, but it also read like a second or third draft, the story, plot, and characters were there but things like transitions and padding out were missing, making it read stark and bumpy instead of flowing.
He was communicating with her even though she was deep in the trance. For once she wasn’t alone in the ghost zone. But why did Luke Wells have to be the one person who could reach her?
I had a little bit of a problem getting into the overreaching arc of the plot, The Foundation, Blue Stone, Kaleidoscope weapons, all the psychic abilities, and the family history/drama with Sophy and Luke's family was a lot to get thrown into and try to wade through as a murder mystery was underlining everything. Sophy has the ability to “read” a crime scene, she goes into a trance where she can see ghost like apparitions recreate their murder but it takes a huge toll on her and her dating life. Luke's still trying to get over being burned bad by a woman, so he's doing the stoic thing but his aura and Sophy's get to mixing and wham bam they have the hots for each other. As they search for their aunt and uncle they had good byplay I enjoyed but there was a ton to wade through here.
“That’s the thing about history, isn’t it?” she said. “No two people tell it quite the same way.”
As we get more of their family history, a business deal gone wrong between their grandparents that left them mistrustful of each other but locked in a pact to always protect the psychic weapons they had created, it starts to become clear that that history plays a part in the current murders that Sophy and Luke are investigating. There was a little bit of broaching with this commentary: Perhaps it hasn’t occurred to you that most of us in the community lack the muscle and the cash it takes to make sure the Foundation treats us with the same respect that it shows your family. It seems to think it has a right to police those of us who are just trying to make a living with our talents and be productive members of society, some added danger for Sophy, a call-back for Luke, and we get a climatic scene that reveals players and motivations but also leaves some threads dangling. Bruce the dog had a personality all his own and with a cliffhanger that deals with him, it's clear why he got some of the spotlight. If you've read the Fogg Lake series maybe you wouldn't be as confused as I was through this and would enjoy it more, others not initiated like me, there's some fun back and forth between Sophy and Luke and interesting paranormal elements but be prepared to have to work for every ounce of understanding.
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