The Palm Reader
Series: Jackson Walker Thriller
(Book 2)
Author: Christopher Bowron
Hardcover: 326 pages
Publisher: Koehler Books (June 20, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1633936384
ISBN-13: 978-1633936386
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Synopsis
Jackson Walker once again faces his demons in this haunting sequel to Devil in the Grass. Now working as an investigative lawyer for Peter Robertson, Jack teams with Janie Callaghan to solve the disappearance of a sleazy client specializing in taboo pornography. Meanwhile, the evil head of the Church of Satan weaves an intricate web to lure Walker as the sacrificial lamb in an Everglades Black Mass ritual.
May Container Spoilers
My Thoughts
The Palm Reader is the sequel to Devil in the Grass, which was a number one bestseller, published by Köehler Books in March 2016.
I would only recommend this series of dark thrillers for adults.
The book begins with a look back at Jackson Walker being led to the back of a police van. Soon he and Mason Matye, a leader within the American branch of the Church of Satan in the Southern United States, are together.
The plot of the book is that Jackson is now an investigative lawyer, and his life is intertwined with Mason Matye's. Mason, who staged his own death, is on a mission to wipe out Jackson and his family.
If you can ignore the brutality of Mason, and many sordid, corrupt, or immoral characters that either live or die, this read is interesting in that the descriptive narrative style shows one can either garner a comfort or a discomfort in the basis of southern superstitions, especially those surrounding the Seminole Tribe.
I felt there was a fair amount of research that went into creating this read. In chapter two, we read the bird broke its bonds and we know by the legend that "The Bird will make sure that all things are put in their proper places on earth."
I found I was indeed hopeful this would occur.
The book was as I expected full of violence and manipulation and jumps from scene to scene.
I like the local being the Florida Everglades. The fortune tellers, tarots, concoctions, hidden lockups, and many things paranormal are combined with the seedy underbelly of life, family tragedies, and forensic investigations.
For me, the strongest character's were Mason and Nathaniel Portman a.k.a. Gramps ( Jackson's Native-American grandfather). Both of these men carry a talisman. Of course, Mason's is curse-bearing while readers ponder if Gramps talisman will be powerful enough to thwart off evil.
This book isn’t for the faint of heart, and the ending is written so that it's open to another book being created for this series.
I received this book from the author, Christopher Bowron.