BOOK REVIEW - Sacred Secrets, A Jacody Ives Mystery

BREAKING NEWS: Just released on Amazon Kindle - Linda Prather and Charles W. Prather, Jr.





Sacred Secrets:
A Jacody Ives Mystery
By Linda S. Prather
Manuscript
365 Pages


I thoroughly enjoyed having a very small part in being a reviewer for a manuscript, especially for the exciting, supernatural suspense novel, Sacred Secrets: A Jacody Ives Mystery, written by Linda S. Prather! This is a prequel to her first novel, The Gifts, which I earlier reviewed; this prequel certainly sets the stage for future Jacody Ives mysteries.

Lydia called to anybody who would listen. She had been planning on going home to her father, had already written him to tell him she was coming, and bringing, Ginger. Even when she was murdered and buried, she still needed, wanted to go home, “Please . . .” she whispered.

Gavin McAllister heard her in his dreams. “Please,” she whispered. Gavin knew that evil had claimed another victim.

Jacody Ives is, of course, the primary character and is a private investigator. Some call him Gavin. Gavin’s brother, Rob, and his partner, Carl, both FBI agents, often aid him in his work.

Father Michael heard Lydia’s whispers as well; but he knew more than that, and he couldn’t face it, couldn’t live with it. He tried to talk to Father Peter, lamenting that he no longer felt God was with him. Could he find absolution? Could he send Lydia home . . . and still save . . . her? Praying, he finally knew what he must do!

Katie O’Connor had been given a second-chance in life. She had been very ill since she was 12 and knew that, if she didn’t receive a heart transplant, her life expectancy was less than a year. But, out of the blue, she was called to come to the hospital. They had a heart for her! After verification that it would work, she was rushed into surgery and the transplant was successfully completed! But when she woke up, drowsy, she heard “Dig the hole, dig it deep...I like the liver and the hearts. The worms...” and she screamed! “Please . . .get the doctor . . .take it out!” (p.61)

Destiny...this book is about destiny and what it takes to actually have destiny “happen.” Katie O’Connor was caught in a series of events that had started 25 years ago. When she tried to find people with whom she had talked, she learned that they had died years ago. When she tried to find the individual who had given her the new heart, she learned that it was a beloved friend from her past.

So many things were happening, if one person did not follow what steps fate laid out, then a whole new set of events had to be created. For Katie O’Connor and for Jacody Ives, they were caught within a struggle against an evil that would continue to kill unless they followed the paths of destiny that were placed before them.

Prather has a rare skill in incorporating aspects of the supernatural into her stories. There is rarely a mention of who has those skills—readers just know it by coming to know the various characters.

A supporting activity of placing poetry between chapters, including beautiful, complementary words written by her son, Charles W. Prather, Jr., adds greatly to readers’ enjoyment.

Truthfully? I was hooked with the Prologue! Except for personal breaks, I read straight through, turning page after page, wonderfully surprised by each new step of fate and how each was mystically woven into one of the best novels I’ve had the pleasure to read! Be assured I’ll be keeping track and letting you know when Sacred Secrets is available! It’s a MUST-READ!

G. A. Bixler
IP Book Reviewer