IMMORTAL ELICPSE by Sherry Soule-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOKS: Released April 30, 2013

MYSTERY, MURDER, and MANOLO BLAHNIK….

A devoted fashionata and practical New Yorker, Skylar Blackwell doesn’t believe in the supernatural—until she inherits Summerwind Mansion. . . .

When her uncle is brutally murdered, and the cops seem uninterested in following up the case, Skylar journeys to California to seek answers. Her search for clues is soon overshadowed by haunting nightmares of a young woman also murdered in the house.

Now the inhabitants of Summerwind are mysteriously dying, leaving no evidence as to how or why, and Skylar finds herself in a deadly race against time to expose the killer—before they strike again.

Armed with only wit and Pradas, Skylar begins questioning the servants, but the growing list of suspects includes the sexy and brooding caretaker, Dorian Delacroix, a man desperately trying to forget his tragic past. And a major distraction for Skylar.

Determined to play detective—instead of the fashion police—and unravel the dark history of the mansion, Skylar is plunged into an otherworldly mystery that not even she can explain away. As the boundaries between reality and dreams blur, Skylar’s greatest challenge is to stay alive long enough to learn the truth

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REVIEW: IMMORTAL ECLIPSE is a contemporary paranormal NA mystery storyline where the heroine hopes to uncover the truth behind her uncle’s death but finds a house haunted by a ghost with an ulterior motive. When a ghost refuses to move on, there is always a reason and Skylar will soon discover she is part of the reason behind the spirit hauntings.

The heroine is Skylar Blackwell-once an award winning, twenty something fashion photographer, Skylar is currently on a permanent leave of absence when she is unable to match her earlier success in the business. Following the death of her uncle, Skylar heads to California to uncover the truth-a truth she believes is marred by hidden secrets, dark demons and a connection to the world of the supernatural-a world in which she does not believe. From hauntings, to murder, strange sightings and the unexplained, Skylar will find herself a potential victim in a house run by the servants who are not what they appear to be.

The storyline focuses on Skylar’s struggle to get to the truth behind her uncle’s death-a death she believes was murder. The household servants are reluctant to answer her questions and the one person in whom she can trust, is evasive and not the person she once thought he would be. Dorian is a man with a past that is connected to both the house and the hauntings. And the relationship between Dorian and Skylar is fraught with tension, angst, attraction and betrayal.

IMMORTAL ECLIPSE had potential but I felt it lost something in the story telling and translation. The story outline and character development are slow to build and, the bi-polar and almost schizophrenic personalities of the leading characters made it difficult to feel any emotional tie or sympathy for what was happening-the hot and cold dispositions changed almost as quickly as the heroine’s shoes and fashion brands. It is a ghost story shrouded in several mysteries that will be solved in the final few pages of the book. It read like a game of Clue with some familiar paranormal television plotlines (ala Vampire Diaries) thrown in. There was mystery, suspense, betrayal and death with the added attraction of a sexy hero with some issues of his own.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

NOTE:  I found another cover of IMMORTAL ECLIPSE-which one do you prefer?