Official Review: A Door Unlocked by Calvin Dean

[sybil1reader]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Door Unlocked" by Calvin Dean.]

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A Door Unlocked, by Calvin Dean is a gripping work of paranormal fiction that takes place in the state of Mississippi. It is a tale of corruption, bribery, love, murder, kidnapping, and the way these things come together to tear a family apart. Eric and Vanessa Fitzgerald, along with their eight year old daughter, Lydia, live in an affluent neighborhood with manicured lawns. Bobby Ray left prison one year ago and decides that making money on the shady side is the way to go in the future. Nikki is a reporter willing to take almost any risk to get a story. Dr. Dietrich is an Australian doctor whose research into the paranormal may very well be his undoing. Terrence Oliver is an undercover cop willing to play dirty to line his pockets. David Johnson is an upstanding citizen of the community who gives Oliver his latest shady assignment, and Senator Fitzgerald, Eric’s father, willingly accepts bribes to influence certain committees as long as the price is right. These three men are corrupt to the core and they all have a date with destiny in the form of a very determined bird.

Eric, Vanessa, and Lydia return home after a fun filled day of celebrating Lydia’s birthday. That night Bobby Ray walks through their unlocked front door to complete his first shady assignment. Things do not go as planned, and when Bobby Ray leaves, Eric is dead and Vanessa clings to life in their bedroom beaten and raped. Lydia becomes his kidnap victim and so the action begins. Can the authorities find Lydia in time? Killing was not a part of Bobby Ray’s plan, but he is more than willing to do so if it will keep him from going back to prison. The focus of the story now shifts to finding Lydia before he decides that she is a risk to him.

While in a medically induced coma, Vanessa communicates with Eric, a strange phenomenon indeed. Only she can hear him and the only visual she sees is a big, aggressive bird. Nikki breaks this news after sneaking into Vanessa’s hospital room and the public thinks that this poor traumatized woman is hallucinating. Enter Dr. Dietrich who wants to bridge the gap between the world of the living and the dead. He gives Vanessa a symbolic skeleton key and assists her in communicating with Eric. True scientists always seem to have their own agenda, so his help is for his selfish academic dreams than for solving the murder and kidnapping. Eric provides information that saves Lydia, and the corrupt players in this tale of twists and turns die at the hands of the very bird that Vanessa can see.

It turns out that Vanessa’s family is collateral damage in a bribery situation gone wrong. You will be more than surprised to learn of the connections between the characters and how justice comes full circle. The most upstanding citizens can fall victim to greed, while a person who has never killed can turn into a murderer for self-preservation. Dr. Dietrich unlocks mysteries to the “other side” but he never lives to tell it. It seems that some paranormal secrets should remain unknown for the greater good of all.

I enjoyed this book. This is my first experience with Calvin Dean’s writing and I am pleased with his character development in that I really felt a connection to them and their emotions. I like strong characters and he delivered for me in that aspect. I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4, only because some questions still remain about the how and why of some of the paranormal occurrences. Hopefully a sequel can provide answers to these questions. I was so amped up during the book that I read it in less than a day, but I was kind of disappointed that the ending was not as strong as the rest of the book. I still plan to recommend it to my fellow readers.

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[jonereb]

Thanks for the very thorough review. I'm glad you enjoyed reading A Door Unlocked.

[sybil1reader]

It was my pleasurre!