Ryne Douglas Pearson’s The Donzerly Light opens with an interrogation. The man being interrogated – Jay Grady – has just murdered someone, but the people holding him don’t seem to be policemen. And, for Jay, that’s probably the nearest thing to normal that’s happened to him in eight long years.
Pearson creates a spider web of a plot that draws not only his protagonist but also the reader in and refuses to let either go. The spider, as it turns out, is a bum who holds the sign bearing the words “Buy the donzerly light” early in the book. Jay, an ambitious Wall Street junior broker, is the fly. Jay’s life is forever changed when he drops some change into the bum’s can: first, he’s given the Midas touch and then something much more sinister.
Though the main character is initially somewhat unlikeable, the story is so fascinating that this reader kept turning the pages anxiously. The path the young man is forced to walk eventually strengthens his character and makes him sympathetic. All of the characters seem real, from his childhood sweetheart to the man interrogating Jay, which helps to ground the more fantastic elements of the story.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in paranormal suspense. It was highly entertaining and had a great twist at the end.
Hi. I'm here from West of Mars. Sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to add it to my list. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete