OMG! Linda Prather Flew Into Big-Time With Eternal Beauty!

“One more, sweetheart, and we’ll be finished.” He folded her hands across her chest, carefully arranging them to hide the missing fingers. “That’s perfect.” The camera’s flash lit up the darkness for a moment, illuminating her pale features. He crouched beside her and gently brushed her blond hair away from her face. “You can rest now. Your memory is forever preserved.” 
He placed the small digital camera in his pocket, stood, and reached for the tape recorder. A light breeze swept over the bow of the boat, and he closed his eyes. He’d stopped believing in God, but he still believed in Hell. And he was going to burn in Hell. Not because he’d killed her, but because he’d enjoyed it so much. He opened his eyes and glanced at the recorder. He’d taped every scream. Recorded every moan. His purpose had been innocent enough in the beginning. He’d wanted a reminder of the sins he had committed. But then something had broken. Needs had awakened. Darkness had descended on his soul. He had become the very thing he abhorred. And worst of all, he liked it. He pushed the play button and listened to her screams rise and fall. Desire swelled deep in his groin, intensifying each time a scream peaked. He licked his lips, yet he denied himself the pleasure of the sweet beauty of release. Later, he could watch the video, study the photos, and relive the excitement. Perhaps then he would allow himself the ecstasy of release, but only if it didn’t cheapen her memory. She didn’t deserve that. At the moment, reliving the feel of the scalpel in his hand and the rush of pleasure of severing the muscles one by one was enough. His gaze fell on the hands still delicately folded across her bosom. He’d had to discipline her. But she’d learned quickly, and the missing fingers did nothing to diminish her perfection. And she’d been so perfectly exquisite. Her hair was a golden halo, her skin soft as silk, and her body… 
If goddesses existed, they must have cringed in envy every time she walked by. But her eyes set her apart from the others. Beautiful, gleaming sapphires. That was why he’d kept them. If the process worked, he would use them. If it didn’t, he knew where to find an identical pair. He placed the recorder in his shirt pocket but left it running. His desire was gone, but something about her cries was soothing. They created a pleasant balm in the pre-dawn stillness. 
He reached for the Ziploc bag housing the remnants of his first experiments and opened it. Although each had been beautiful in her own way, they had had no ceremony, no words of beauty spoken over them. He had simply weighted them down with rocks, and with a simple flip of a switch, the cargo hold had opened, expelling the cold, stiff bodies. They were not worthy of a starring role, but their lives had not been totally in vain, as they would have been had he not taken them. Although they held no place of honor on his board, he had immortalized them. They would be remembered. Holding the bag over the side of the boat, he whispered, “I cast your eyes to the ocean.” He watched the white orbs flip and float on the waves. The screams on the tape tapered off into whimpers as the sun crested the horizon. He rolled the body to the edge of the boat and wound a rope around it. Then he secured the massive stone to the corpse and lowered the special-made railing. “You, my darling, have the starring role in Act One.” With a smile, he pushed the bundle overboard. “I cast your soul to the sea. ‘Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.’” He’d memorized the verse for the occasion. Just for her. She had changed everything, cleared the fog from his brain, and given him a reason to live. Such beauty must be preserved...

~~~

Eternal Beauty:
A Catherine Mans Psychic Suspense

By Linda S. Prather

Linda Prather has found her niche, her rhythm--her thrust up the ladder of success with her latest, Eternal Beauty, and maybe even missed a couple of rungs... Prather kept me Riveted! On Edge, right to the realllly surprising ending that I would not have even thought to anticipate! Kudos to Prather for her characters in this series and her use of their talents!

http://www.netanimations.net/eyes.htm
Had to lighten this up a bit - pretty
scary to find 14 eyeballs!

Homicide Sergeant Jack Wharton stood on the beach, his gaze drifting over the bay as a team of officers scoured the sand and the edge of the water. Fourteen eyeballs. Fourteen eyes meant at least seven bodies. Maybe more.
Medical Examiner Emily Chan joined him. “How are the boys doing?” Wharton turned, giving her a weak smile.
“I don’t think they’ll be skipping school again for a long time. Officer Barnes took them home after he secured the beach and notified the Coast Guard.” He gestured toward the long line of onlookers behind the yellow tape.
 “Good thing too, or we’d have never found the rest of them.”
“They haven’t been in the water long. I’ve got them on ice, but I need to get them to the lab. Some are still frozen, but decomp will set in as they thaw. In a few hours, they would have withered to the point no one would ever have found them.”

. 

~~~

They had been skipping school, but when the boys found all those eyeballs, they knew that, whether they got in trouble or not, they had to contact the police.

Homicide Sgt Jack Wharton and ME Emily Chan were quickly on the scene; however, they knew this case was going to explode because they already knew that a local senator's daughter was missing. I guess it is no longer stereotyping when something is true?? But, of course, that Senator immediately moved in and began demanding, but even more troublesome, getting personally involved.  Soon the FBI were on their way, but neither of these police groups would be happy with how that senator got involved! For purposes of the story, however, it was expected, and therefore kind of fun to watch the interplay and not-so-polite exchanges, LOL. I loved the extra little twist regarding the change of attitude by Homicide Wharton toward Catherine and Rosetta as well...

As Dante says, “As one who sees in dreams and wakes to find the emotional impression of his vision still powerful while its parts fade from his mind — Just such am I, having lost nearly all the vision itself, while in my heart I feel the sweetness of it yet distill and fall.” That is my life now, my love. I shall keep the vision of our love alive. Within my heart, the sweetness of your vision shall never fade.
~~~

. 

Most of us recognize Dante's name and the type of writings he's known for. While I don't know enough to truthfully say it, I must at least acknowledge Prather's wonderful research and use of Dante's words as those often quoted by the fascinating rogue created, as well as her romantic letter writing on his behalf. While those dead might not be able to appreciate her efforts, we readers will enjoy this added touch to making  the villain a much more entertaining individual, even if really, really, insane...

If you have not read earlier Catherine Mans books, do check them out...As mentioned, though in the subtitle, Catherine is psychic and has been added to a special group of individuals who work within the FBI somewhat more freely because of what they do...

However, with this senator's involvement, there have already been threats of the group being disbanded, Catherine and others fired...

Also interesting is that Catherine seems not to be able to connect psychically on anything related to this case. Could it be because of the death of her grandmother and the subsequent desire of her grandfather, who by the way, adds much needed fun color to this dark suspense novel, to have Catherine take over? Take over what? You'll have to find

out by reading the book; but I will say that this is not the reason Catherine is not honing in on this killer...

Which is a problem, because HE is honing in on this beautiful blond woman himself!

But, in fact, Rosetta, who is one of my favorite characters, steals the show in this book, in my opinion. When I envision Rosetta, the quirky Garcia is my pick. And it this case, it doesn't matter that Rosetta is not blond because when the bargaining starts for the next victim, this guy is willing to "make due" if he can't have Catherine... But just wait until you see Rosetta in action! Wow, you go girl!

By now you probably have realized that the unidentified women are those that were ultimately found, nameless. Fortunately, in real life--and in the book--they were ultimately all identified and the families were notified.

Now, I just want to briefly comment on this author because many of you will recognize her as one of my favorites...I read and reviewed her first book, loved it, and have tried to keep up with her work from then on, although I don't know whether I've read all that she has available now.

This is fact, and purely from my opinion, since I have no personal knowledge of this writer, have never met her, etc., but in my opinion, the quality of the work from this author has definitely steadily improved with each of her books. This one, I believe, is her best!

And I'm excited now not only for her, but for all of you that take my word that you need to start reading Linda S. Prather. Now!

GABixlerReviews

Linda Prather. Born in Richmond, Kentucky, I grew up the youngest of six. Workers' Comp didn't exist when I was small, or at least not for my family and when dad was injured on the job he became virtually unemployable. I was eight at the time and remember the drastic changes in our lives. Dad became a "share cropper" for a local farm. For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it means raising crops for the farm owner in exchange for a place to live and a small percentage of the crop proceeds. My brothers, sisters and I would rise every morning at five a.m. to help mom and dad with the crops. School work was secondary to our afternoon chores. Still, even with all this I found time to read and fall in love with books. I've always wanted to write. specially mysteries. I love the twists and turns of a good mystery which leaves me guessing all the way to the end.
In the late 80s I became interested in metaphysics. I studied meditation, hypnosis, touch healing and a vast number of other "alternative" healing methods. My interest was sparked by my own experiences and the fact that my mother had just been diagnosed with cancer.
In the late 90s I received my Clinical Hypnotherapy Degree and began studying the effects of hypnosis on cancer and other terminal illnesses, as well as working with local doctors and hospitals on pain control of phantom limbs and fibromyalgia. My studies led to the development of the use of meditation and hypnosis with local support groups.
Even with all this, something was missing in my life. I wanted to write. No, actually I needed to write. In the mid 90s I joined a group called Green River Writers in Louisville, Kentucky. The next five years contain many of my fondest memories of being a part of a group of authors. Critiquing and being critiqued. Learning to hone a craft that isn't simply putting words on a page. I combined my love of mysteries with my love of metaphysics. The payoff? In 2005 I submitted my first novel, The Gifts, A Jacody Ives Mystery to Echelon Press, a small trade publisher. After several months of nail biting and walking the floor I was offered a contract to publish. Wow!
I believed The Gifts to be a good book, but my readers amazed me even more when it took 2nd place in the Preditor's and Editor's contest for best novel of 2006 and was nominated for The David Award. Reader requests resulted in my writing a prequel, Sacred Secrets, which has now been released by Amazon Digital.
Research into the third Jacody Ives Mystery led to my studies in the paranormal research field, as well as my becoming a Paranormal Investigator. I'm currently working on the 3rd and 4th Jacody Ives Mystery as well as a suspense novel and legal thriller.
Some questions I'm asked: Q) Do I believe in ghosts/spirits? A) Yes, I do. Q) Are you psychic? A) I
believe everyone is psychic.
Have questions: Please feel free to contact me at : admin@prather-author.com