Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Dark Oracle

Tara is a criminal profiler. Her ways of doing things are a little different than those of her coworkers, however. Tara uses Tarot cards and her own powerful magic abilities to learn things about people. Before her untimely death, Tara's mother belonged to a group of women, called the Daughters of Delphi, all of whom had extraordinary powers. By birth, Tara belongs to this group, too, but doesn’t want anything to do with them. After receiving scars all over her body in a previous mission, Tara decides to abandon the profession of profiling so that she can recover from the trauma of her injuries. Her wish, however, is not to be. Tara is recruited by one of the Daughters of Delphi to find a missing scientist whose mind and research may hold enough information that, in the wrong hands, could lead to the destruction of the earth.

This is a book for the person who wants a strong heroine. Tara has to work hard to overcome her fears, and she has plenty of them from having been captured and scarred by a serial killer. Williams, the author, spends too much time explaining the meanings of each Tarot card for the casual reader. It can get a little wearisome when the meanings go on for pages. She could have spent more time, however, explaining the power and the details of the Daughter’s of Delphi, so that the reader better understands their community and its meaning. Overall, Dark Oracle is a little tedious because of the way it is broken up by long definitions and the detailed backgrounds of Tara’s readings. The concept of the story is a good idea, but the finished product could use a little work.

There is one sex scene in this book that may not be appropriate for younger readers. Many of the murders and tortures in the book are described in detail, which may be uncomfortable for readers with a more sensitive nature.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leverett, Ma USA