Title:
Night Machines
Author:
Kia Heavey
Classification:
Fiction
Genre:
Fantasy (Paranormal)/Suspense
ISBN:
978-0-615-48709-0
Year
Published: 2009
Pages:
304
Edition:
First
Publisher:
Kia Heavey
Reviewer:
Joyce Shafer ~ http://Self-PublishedAuthorsBookReviews.weebly.com
Author’s
website: http://kiaheavey.com/
In
this novel of suspense, romance-gone-awry, and the paranormal, the main
character, Maggie Moore, is married to Rowan, a detective in the small town
where they live, and is the mother of two. Now that her children are a bit
older, she’s ready to return to the working world but is anxious about her
interview for a part-time job as a corporate communications writer and editor
at NarcoDynamics. Dr. Cambien Cuthbert, founder of the company and creator of the
clinical sleep aid Anadreme, which eliminates “intense dreaming, night panics,
and nightmares,” is a former high school chum, whom Maggie only barely
remembers. He’s no longer the lanky, awkward, pale teen but now a tall, svelte,
wickedly handsome man of confidence and success—who has a long-held attraction
for Maggie. The way she represents herself in the interview with Cuthbert,
she’s certain she blew her chance for the job. She’s wrong, of course. Soon,
Maggie’s thoughts about her boss seduce her into behaviors and visions that are
a form of escape from her predictable life, a husband who is becoming more and
more remote, and her insecurities. As is printed on the book cover, “Maggie
decided to have an affair. No one needed to know, not even her lover.”
Soon
after the story opens, a tragedy happens in their area: A child has been
murdered, and there’s no trail leading to her killer. People in the small town
where Maggie and Rowan live are in a heightened state of awareness and panic,
causing additional problems, which keeps Rowan and his fellow police officers
busy nearly around the clock as they address these new issues and
simultaneously work the homicide. Maggie and Rowan drift apart, which makes Cambien
Cuthbert’s attentions all the more appealing: “She wanted two men and could
have neither.” Feeling abandoned by her now careworn, ill-tempered husband,
Maggie engages in a very different kind of affair with her boss, an imaginary one
that begins to consume her. All the while, Cuthbert inveigles himself into her
life in such a way that there seems to be no escape from him or her desire for
him.
I
found this an engaging read! Murders, manipulations, and agendas…. I have to be
careful about spoilers because this plot unfolds in layers that go deeper and
darker until… So what I will say is that the author, Kia Heavey, creates a rich
tapestry of scenery, motive, character development, and plot. The tension
builds deliciously throughout the book, revealing more and more of what’s
really going on, which you, more than likely, may not or probably won’t
anticipate. She has the gift for turning a phrase and does so effectively and
often throughout the book. A big Thumbs-Up for this author’s creative
imagination and storytelling skills.
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