Maddy's Floor

by Dale Mayer
Book 3 of Psychic Visions

The Actual Rating:  1.5 "I'm done with this series" Stars

Yes.   I think I'm giving up on this series.  I had been on the fence about continuing this series, so I included this book in my 2016 Reading Assignment challenge to see if, by any chance, I'd be able to give the series another go.  Truth be told, while the first two books weren't the best written (and had editing errors like nobody's business), they had some pretty good concepts and the story lines weren't entirely insufferable.

But with Maddy's Floor, things were just draggy and boring from the start.  I made it through the entire book if only because I wanted to see how the author would handle the ending.  I mean, how do you catch a killer who can siphon energy off other people without leaving a trace?  How do you try a villain in the court of law without physical evidence?   Only psychics would ever know who was responsible for the deaths of six children and a dying old man.  Only psychics would be able to determine how said killer is continuing to take other people's energies and life force.

I really wanted to see how Mayer was going to wrap this mystery up.  And you know HOW this story concludes?  By making up a left-field conclusion out of thin air.  And by sheer force of "THE ALMIGHTY WRITER'S WILL":

Let that sink in for a second and you'll understand why I chose to subtract another half a star from an originally "It was OK" 2-Star rating.  Because, if not for that sudden rush of "THE ALMIGHTY WRITER'S WILL" in forcing a resolution, our main evil villain guy would never have been caught.  There was no evidence and there were reasons on a psychic level that pointed to someone else entirely as the responsible party to all the deaths.

I could have lived with a boring, dragged out book about a speshul snowflake doctor and her apparent ability to heal the dying with ideas of positive thinking and positive energy.   I could have lived with the awkward dialogues and monologues.  I could have lived with some of the random tangents, or the fact that nothing really happens in this book to forward anything.

Okay.  Never mind, maybe I couldn't really have lived with all of that.  After all, if there were perfect Mary Sues in the world, Dr. Maddy would be in the middle of that convention since she practically lights up rooms when she walks into them, and need only walk and breathe for people to fall in love with her.

But anyway, I would have just shrugged off a lot of my quibbles, gave the book a 'meh' rating and moved on.  But the conclusion was just so forced that you could tell we were struggling to figure out how to wrap things up, because not only was the conclusion rushed, it also made no sense whatsoever (see spoiler above).

As a side note, there were still quite a few typos and editing errors throughout the book, even if not as bad as the first book.  Mainly, I noticed a lot of inappropriate comma usage, and some narrative inconsistencies.

One scene that comes to mind is when Maddy is making coffee in the morning after the detective stays the night in her guest bedroom to keep an eye on her.  She is narrated to have pulled two mugs out of her cabinets while waiting for her coffee to brew when her phone rings.  While she's on the phone with her friend Stefan, she turns and is startled to see that the detective guy is leaning against the kitchen door frame, and she monologues that she'd forgotten he was in her house; this left me wondering whether or not she normally pulls out two mugs for herself for coffee in the morning.

Then she continues her phone conversation, saying things that I thought the detective guy would have absolutely been suspicious about and start asking questions about, especially since she mentions said detective's uncle's name in a context that sounds rather concerning.  Instead, our detective just smiles at her and reaches for two mugs in the cabinet to hand her a cup of coffee.  At this point, I can't really remember whether or not Dr. Maddy had already poured herself a mug of coffee, because I had somehow been under the impression that she'd gotten herself a mug already, but she takes the mug that Mr. Detective Guy pours for her anyway, thus, somehow negating the mug that she may or may not already have in her hand.

There were more narrative inconsistencies like that, such as a character already standing up, but suddenly "coming to her feet" a few sentences later; or a character already sitting down, but then randomly falls into her chair in the next instance.

In other quibbles, I was a little jarred by the fact that Dr. Maddy's extent of reactions are 90% gasping:  she gasps when someone says something to her; she gasps when someone brushes by her; she gasps when someone surprises her; she gasps when she's having sex; she gasps when someone calls her name... she pretty much gasps when ANYTHING happens.

Anyway... Before I read this book, I was actually looking forward to it, even with my previous, less than enthused ratings for the first two books in this series.  But now I'm definitely sure that I won't be continuing with this series anymore.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Reading Assignment Challenge

 • COYER Summer Vacation 2016 -- Bingo Board One | Square R5 -- PNR

Tia's abilities are a little odd, even for this series. Her main one is pretty much spelled out in the title: she can make herself invisiable - or at least manitulate the energy around her to make people not see her. Most of her childhood was spent in an instution - one that many assumed was meant to make her (and the others) "normal", but was really expermenting on them. Everything that happens in this book seems to tie back to the lab she spent most of her life in (her parents sent her there when she was ten, but I'm not sure how old she is during this book.)

Tia and Dean seemed strangely perfect for each other, although they did seem a little rushed to me, but that seems common when someone is after one or both of the people in the couple. I can't say I was really rooting for them, but like I said it seemed a little fast.

I enjoyed this one but it isn't my favorite in this series.

If you are a fan of murder mysteries with a psychic twist, Seeing Evil by Jason Parent might just be for you.

Jason, you don’t like tether ball? I can see how you would visualize it as a murder weapon. LOL I used to be the queen of our grade school and even had one at home. I love to learn fun, inane things about authors. It gives me some insight into their personality, so be sure and take a look at Jason’s biography for yourself.

Add me to Goodreads now.

Seeing Evil by Jason Parent

Cover:  Streetlight Graphics

MY REVIEW

Jason Parent’s latest novel is a mystery with a psychic twist that had me interested from the moment I read the blurb. It may even be considered as part of the horror genre. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and the human kind are the worst. Seeing Evil has its share of evil of the two legged kind.

Seeing Evil’s blue watery looking cover, with the eyes looking at me, peaked my interest further. A lot of times, I will grab a novel just because of the cover and this is one of those novels. Job well done Jason and Streetlight Graphics.

The main cast of characters include Fall River Detective Samantha Reilly, Michael, a foster kid who has a special gift, and Tessa, a young girl haunted by her dreams, or should I say nightmares. And, of course, the killer, but I can’t tell you much about him. You will have to find out for yourself.

Samantha has been involved in Michael’s life since his parents were killed when he was three years old. He is the new kid in school and bullied mercilessly. After he was viciously assaulted, he developed a gift, or was it a curse. Why were the visions so horrible? Why didn’t he see wondrous things? He could see bad things coming to people he touched, but was unable to convince those in authority of what was coming. Even Samantha has doubts, until…

Samantha and Michael step out of the normal police investigation mode and hunt for the killer, putting themselves in extreme danger.

I liked that Jason Parent pointed out how often we come in contact with strangers, a casual touch here or a brush against them as we pass by. It is details like this that give a feeling of reality to a novel.

Poor Tessa. She is horribly abused by her father and wonders if he hates her or just takes pleasure in inflicting pain. Evil walks in all forms and doesn’t have to be supernatural. I couldn’t help but feel for her as she searches for a way out of her terror filled life. Isn’t there anyone who can help her?

I see how destiny will draw them all together, but who will be left standing and how damaged they will be when they get there, I am very eager to find out.

Grotesque mutilations, horrendous torture, is there a serial killer on the loose in Fall River? Is Tessa a victim or a perpetrator? What is Michael’s part? Can a psychic who has visions of the future alter the outcome? I don’t see why not and I am hoping so.

Samantha goes above and beyond the norm for a police officer. She has an inside track in the investigation, but wonders how far can she push her secret weapon. Her role has changed, from trying to solve a murder after it happens, to trying to solve a murder before it happens.

Seeing Evil by Jason Parent is a police mystery with a paranormal twist. As the story progresses, the tensions builds and the suspense mounts making me wonder if they will all survive. The killer did not come as a huge surprise, but more than once I was talking to the characters, telling them to not go there, don’t do that, RUN for your life.

The flawed and damaged characters add elements to the story that up my investment in the reading. I am into the characters so much, I wonder if we could be hearing more from Samantha and Michael, even Tessa, in the future.

I loved Seeing Evil. Jason Parent did a fantastic job of grabbing my interest and holding it throughout. I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

I was given a copy of Seeing Evil by Jason Parent in return for an honest and unbiased review.

  4 Stars

SYNOPSIS

Major Crimes Detective Samantha Reilly prefers to work alone—she’s seen as a maverick, and she still struggles privately with the death of her partner. The only person who ever sees her softer side is Michael Turcotte, a teenager she’s known since she rescued him eleven years ago from the aftermath of his parents’ murder-suicide.

In foster care since his parents’ death, Michael is a loner who tries to fly under the bullies’ radar, but a violent assault triggers a disturbing ability to view people’s dark futures. No one believes his first vision means anything, though—not even Sam Reilly. When reality mimics his prediction, however, Sam isn’t the only one to take notice. A strange girl named Tessa Masterson asks Michael about her future, and what he sees sends him back to Sam—is Tessa victim or perpetrator?

Tessa’s tangled secrets draw Michael and Sam inexorably into a deadly conflict. Sam relies on Michael, but his only advantage is the visions he never asked for. As they track a cold and calculating killer, one misstep could turn the hunters into prey.

ABOUT JASON PARENT

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.

When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists into a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

Please visit the author on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasonP…, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AuthorJasParent, or at his website, http://authorjasonparent.com/, for information regarding upcoming events or releases, or if you have any questions or comments for him.

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I don't know how I feel about this book. It's not good, but it's not terrible either. I enjoyed it to an extent, but mainly because I was hoping there'd be more suspense and a better grasp on the romance, the murder investigations, and I like reading about the Search and Rescue aspect, even if I'm not a hundred percent sure if that's how it really works--I'm not an expert, but my suspension of disbelief in this book was really being tested on every level.

Anyway...

Like the first book, Hide'n Go Seek had potential for a good story--I liked the premise. Unlike the first book in this series, the execution was a lot better and the editor didn't get too lazy. I only noticed a few random glaringly obvious typos, grammatical errors, and forgotten or misplaced punctuation marks. There was, however, an over-abundant use of the comma in the most random places.

Again, these books could benefit from a good editing team.

Otherwise, the rest of the book wasn't too bad.

The storyline had potential, the characters were okay, and the murder mystery was fine. Well, okay, the murder mystery was outright predictable because I already figured out who the killer was within the first three chapters. Nonetheless, it played out pretty decently. The characters were actually kind of bland and there were parts where I just wanted to round everyone up and throw them all into a ditch. No. I did not care for many of these people.

For the most part, the book was another very "MEH" level of interest.

I have reserves about continuing the rest of the series for several reasons; the main reason being the most obvious: I have a really long TBR list already and I see no immediate need to read the next book in this series. However, I'm not brushing it off altogether and may or may not return to it in the future.

***

Related Posts:

• Starting: Hide'n Go Seek

The premise of this book reminds me of Iris Johansen's Firestorm.  It's been years since I read it, but I remember really liking Firestorm, so I've added it to my TBR pile for this year.  Back to this book; after having finished Tuesday's Child, I'm giving this second book in the Psychic Visions series a sidelong glance and couple reserves.

But I'm also all about second chances (see: this review of a certain book I really, really wanted to be good), so I'm trying my hand at the second book in this series to see if there's any improvement... or miraculous insight on better writing and editing and research.

To be honest, there wasn't really much aside from Tuesday's Child that actually impressed me or grabbed my attention save for the premise.  I'm hoping things will be a little different with this one and try to go into it without biases.