Omens - Early Book Review

Omens: A Cainsville Novel (Cainsville #1)
by Kelley Armstrong

What is it about:
Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

What did I think of it:
When I read the description of Omens I was sold. It sounded so cool I knew I had to read it.

And then Jeffe managed to get hold of an ARC of Omens for me!

I started on Omens as soon as I could and let me say: Wow!

I was hooked from the start and if it hadn't been for work and other things that really needed to be done I would have finished Omens in one sitting. It's so good!

The paranormal elements in this book are very toned down and although present they're not the focus. Instead this is a really intense, dark and suspenseful mystery. Are Olivia's parents really serial killers or are they innocent? What happened all those years ago and who is trying to stop Olivia from finding out the truth? What's going on in Cainsville? As one question gets answered more questions arise. I was totallly engrossed in the story and trying to anticipate what might happen next.

I loved getting to know Cainsville and its inhabitants I will confess. It's a strange town with lots of secrets and it was intriguing to slowly discover more about what was going on in Cainsville and how it was connected to Olivia and her parents.

And Gabriel! He was such a cool character. I really enjoyed the scenes where Olivia and Gabriel work together. There's a lot of distrust between them and it was cool to see their relationship develop throughout the story.

The ending was both satisfying and frustrating. Some important things are resolved, but there were many things I was left wondering about and I have a long time to wait until the release of the next book. But this story is so good I don't mind the frustration, knowing Armstrong and her writing I know I'll get my answers in one of the next books in this series.

All in all I fell totally in love with this book. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I will most certainly reread it and I'm already eager for the next book in this series which will be preordered as soon as it's possible.

Why should you read it:
It's an amazing, suspenseful Thriller with a paranormal edge.


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Published: 20 August 2013