Review by CZCampbell -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole

[CZCampbell]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Distrusted by the Council, Abigail has something to prove. But with her mentor gone and her boss hiding information from her, how can she restore their faith in her as a Hunter for the Order? While out on a minor mission, Abigail notices she is being followed by a young twenty-something guy who is anything but a professional detective. When she confronts him, Abigail finds out she is in for much more than she bargained for with this Haatim Arison. Will she be able to save not only herself and Haatim, but also the small desolate town of Raven's Peak from a demonic presence bent on destruction? Is Abigail in over her head? Will the Council punish her?

Haatim Arison had to get away from his parents in India after the death of his sister. Upon returning to Arizona, he finds his degree in Theology hasn't really set him up to succeed in many areas, except for his blog on religion. When an out of the ordinary job lands in his lap, he takes it hoping to find some excitement, maybe even some inspiration. The small job turns into a thrilling, supernatural adventure in which Abigail is his guide and everything that he thought was make believe is terrifyingly real. Why are they after him and what is his tie to the Council of Chaldea?

Raven's Peak, Lincoln Cole's first book in World on Fire series, is a riveting, fast paced, edge of your seat thriller that you will find difficult to put down. While a chilling supernatural story,it also manages to deeply address the chronic battle between doubt and faith and the human experiences that push and pull us back forth between belief and rejection. Cole also throws in a few good twists and extreme cliffhangers that would keep any reader from becoming bored throughout the book.

While the story is exciting, I felt there could have been a deeper development of the main character's emotions throughout. As a reader, I feel I can really dive into a story when there is a connection with at least one of the characters. While I cannot connect to these characters in their realities (I am not personally acquainted with a supernatural world filled with demons), I felt Cole could have offered a more human connection by detailing more emotions. Also, there were a number of typos and minor errors throughout the novel that I noted. Aside from these complaints, the book told an original, inventive, and thrilling story that I read in less than a day because I just didn't want to put it down. I would give Raven's Peak 3 out of 4 stars.

The author, Lincoln Cole, states that he was inspired by Stephen King which is very much evident in Raven's Peak. His style of writing, mainly leaving most chapters teetering on that knife edge to switch gears so that you later come back to that certain storyline reminded me a lot of King's stories. If you like Stephen King, I would recommend giving Raven's Peak a read and hopefully you will be as excited as I am to continue with Cole's World on Fire series.

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Raven's Peak
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[Gingerbo0ks]

A good review and one that I feel closely matches my own thoughts on Raven's Peak