Second Charlie Cates Novel An Engrossing, Eye-Opening Mystery

 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for The Shimmering Road, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, The Gates of Evangeline.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.

Now that Charlotte "Charlie" Cates has found love again, she's eager to move on with her life.  With a new baby growing inside her, the 39-year-old journalist is looking forward to a promising future with kind, hardworking Noah Palmer.  Just when everything seems to be coming up roses, however, Charlie gets some shocking news.  Her mother—a drug addict who abandoned her daughter when she was just a toddler—has been killed in a double murder.  The other victim?  Jasmine Cassell, a half sister Charlie never knew existed.  As if that weren't enough, she's having visions again.  This time the distressed child is Micky, Jasmine's daughter.

Although Charlie's energy should be focused on her own child, she can't ignore her niece's plaintive pleas.  Something terrible happened to the child's mother and grandmother.  Determined to find the truth, Charlie starts digging.  Her search takes her into the chaos of northern Mexico, the desolate Arizona desert, and deep into the murky waters of her own troubled past.  Ultimately, her investigation is leading her to the most dangerous destination of all—into the hands of a cold-blooded killer.  Trouble is the last thing Charlie needs, especially in her delicate condition, but she's heading right for it ...

I picked up The Shimmering Road by Hester Young without realizing it's a sequel to The Gates of Evangeline, which I read last year.  It seriously took me a few chapters to catch on!  Maybe that's because Young's second endeavor is much, much better than her first.  Where Evangeline felt flat and predictable, The Shimmering Road remains tense and compelling throughout.  While it's a disturbing read, it's also engrossing, eye-opening.  Overall, I enjoyed this one.  I'll definitely be watching for the last book in the Charlie Cates trilogy which will hopefully come out in 2018.

(Readalikes:  The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young)

Grade:

 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

 

for language (a handful of F-bombs plus milder expletives), violence, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find