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| "I'd like to hear more about Eden. Is it rare to have a female cult leader? Sam asked. Thurber nodded. "Not rare, but certainly not common. Eden was an interesting crew. They were set up to work in a trinity--I don't know if you are familiar with the idea of synarchist rule? Harmony among multiple leaders?
When Shadows
Fall...
By J. T. Ellison
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| A young girl, a middle-aged woman and a woman in her seventies/" "Maid, mother and crone?" "Right. But the older woman was among the dead at the barn. ~~~ |
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| Historically,Eden has three leaders, all from the same bloodline. Three generations of women. |
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| "Let not your heart be concerned with death, for the three corners of our life are at hand. Birth, life, death: this is the only cycle that matters. Death is the great equalizer. Whether your life is year or one hundred years, you will be resurrected in me, and we shall all live forever when the shadows at last fall." --Curtis Lott |
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| Dr. Samantha Owens stared out the window of her new office, admiring the view she'd be enjoying for the next several years. Trees... And so different from her anonymous, stain- less steel office in Nashville. A welcome A change she'd openly pursued, sure to the core she no longer wanted to work in law enforcement. The idea of keeping herself separate from the hurt and fear and messi- ness of the real world appealed to her... ~~~ |
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| Lots and lots of trees. The Georgetown Univer- sity campus was landscaped to perfection, bringing the joys of wildlife and green space to their urban oasis. Maples and will oaks, zelkovas and ginkgo, viburnum and holly, and more she had no names for. In truth, this deep into the war, wet D.C. summer, everything was so green it made hr eyes hurt. It was all so bloody alive. ~~~ |
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| He was much bigger than she was; she could just reach her arms around his body. She pulled him closer, and closer still, until he picked her up as if she weighed no more than a leaf, and her legs wrapped around his waist. He went to his knees and bent her backward into the grass, and she wanted him, wanted him so badly, she didn't care that people were walking down the street five feet away, on the other side of her fence. She wanted him now... ~~~ |
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| The knock at the door made Thor leap to his feet and go tearing into the hall. He was too well disciplined to bark, but stood at attention, yellow eyes fixed on door. Xander tensed. He didn't like unscheduled visits... ~~~ |
She was already to go up until right before school would be starting... And she received this
“Dear Dr. Owens,
If you are reading this letter, I am dead. I would be most grateful if you would solve my murder. I know how determined you are, and talented. If anyone can figure out this mess, it’s you.
I’ve compiled a list of suspects for you to look at, and set aside some money to cover your expenses. I fear your life may be in danger once they find I’ve contacted you, so I urge you to take every precaution.
Yours,
Timothy R. Savage”
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| "Let's get his clothes off. I can't believe they redressed him after they examined him," she said. "From what I've been told, there was no real examination at all. You have a clean slate." Sam looked at Regina. "What? I knew there wasn't an internal exam, but nothing external, either?"... Sam shook her head, partly annoyced and partly glad. When they said no post, she'd assumed they were talking about an internal exam. What sort of fool wouldn't do any external exam on a dead body? Someone was trying to get Timothy Savage out of the way, and fast... They manhandled the body so it was facedown, and Sam gasped. ~~~ |
Her first reaction was to ignore it; she could not get back into that work. But then a lawyer came to visit her and explained Savage had appointed her as executor as well as a request that she conduct an autopsy to prove he was murdered!
But before that lawyer left town, he had been killed!
But before that lawyer left town, he had been killed!
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| ...the doors to the conference room opened and people started streaming in. Fletcher entered first and he introduced Sam and Xander to Agent Rob Thurber and Agent Jordan Blake... |
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| Last through the door was a man Sam knew well, tall and intense, with black hair and the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. Supervisory Special Agent Dr. John Baldwin...and her best friend's fiance'... ~~~ |
Fletcher was hooked up with an FBI agent for the kidnapping case, while Sam got to see another agent with whom she'd been involved in the past--as the financee of her best friend!
And then a series of murders started to occur...and they realized that those being killed had been listed in the will of Jack Savage!
But as these dual investigations continued, they began to intersect and two main issues became clear. There was a serial killer involved! And the cult that seemed to be right in the middle was also involved in criminal activities...
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| The upper part of Savage's back was covered in tattoos. Spirals and triangles and stars, what seemed to be a type of Celtic love knot. No faces, no names, just strange symbols, arranged in what looked to be a repeating pattern... Later they discovered that this symbol was placed on every member...~~~ |
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| Now everybody was moving forward, searching for Eden... |
The complexity of this story is unbelievable, yet Ellison has put it together so that readers can get totally involved, at least up until the last few actions! It didn't surprise me, but I didn't have a clue what was going to climatically close out this one. Lots of great investigators in local and federal levels has been created so that relationships are easily developed and expansive to a series that could go on for quite some time without getting old. By the way, the characters included here were actually selected by the author, so I enjoyed making some final decisions and merging them into my review! Kudos to the author of this series!
There were many different aspects to what was happening with Sam, so that I wasn't quite sure that, after everything settled, she would continue with the plans as included... My guess is that ultimately she'll go back to full-time forensics work... What do you think? Do you agree? The author has given us a main character in whom we immediately are drawn to and interested in her personal life. Xander is a perfect companion, lover, and hopefully more in the future. Exciting, to say the least, sensational overall...a great whodunit, especially since I missed the closing! I love being surprised with the ending. Given my reading of this one book, I can feel comfortable recommending the entire series to fans of forensics crime mysteries and thrillers!
GABixlerReviews
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