Tuesday 6 March 2012

Review: The Other Covenant (Vow of the Seven #1)

Original Title: The Other Covenant
Series: Vow of the Seven
Author: Caroline Crosby
Publisher: Goose Hill Press
Published Date: January 22nd 2012
Genre: Thriller, Fantasy




BOOK DESCRIPTION

As are few others, Elizabeth Mitchell has been aware of the black occult lodge named “the Covenant” since childhood. Its unpublished chronicles describe events not found in American history classes. She trusts the veracity of the Covenant chronicles far more than that of the history books, though in her heart of hearts she would rather believe accepted history.

The history books do not say that four of Elizabeth’s ancestors brought the Covenant into being in 1633. Psychic adepts fleeing accusations of witchcraft in England, they ended up on the emigration ship Neptune. Outward bound on the North Atlantic passage to the Massachusetts Bay colony, their plotting succeeded in creating a near-flawless conspiracy which allowed themselves and their descendants secretly to rule the Massachusetts Bay colony and eventually the United States.

Elizabeth despises everything about the Covenant. Trained by her cousin, a renowned occult enforcer, she has vowed to fight evil magic. She knows that, with her bloodlines, if the Covenant realizes that she possesses psychic abilities, she would either have to become a member or lose her life.

Careful to keep her world apart from the high social realm where the present-day members of the Covenant exist, Elizabeth lives a quiet life as a clinical psychologist until she receives the phone call which summons her into the midst of the Covenant’s world.

Even though it is taken for granted that renowned philanthropist Richard Bennett died of a heart attack, Elizabeth knows that he was murdered—and that no law enforcement agency on earth could ever find out the truth.

She also knows that it is her duty to hunt down those responsible, all the while protecting Richard’s young widow from the Covenant, the black magic cabal that has ruled the destiny of America from behind the scenes.

Elizabeth must fight her own terror as well as sort out the suspects, who include the leaders of the Covenant and others less obvious. She finds allies from an occult hunting lodge, who have hunted the lesser type of psychic criminal, and her cousin, a former Marine Recon.

The solution of Richard Bennett’s murder is the basis of this 122,400 word novel. It continues the tradition of Algernon Blackwood’s John Silence, Dion Fortune’s Dr. Taverner and the Adept series written by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris. This book is written for all those who enjoy reading dispatches from the front in the age-old war between white magic and black.

REVIEW

The Other Covenant is more a thriller, than  a fantasy or a romance novel, and it was undeniably an engaging (although lengthy) read!

Long long back, four people with psychic abilities formed an organization to maintain the psychic clan and also to run the U.S. Government - indirectly.  This is called "The Other Covenant".   They maintain certain stringent rules and soon, the organisation was the most secretive, renowned and most feared black magic organization.

Elizabeth Mitchell, a psychologist and our protogonist, is a psychic, but not the part of the Covenant.  When one evening, Richard Bennett, the Director of the Covenant, approaches her, seeking her help to protect Althea, Richard's wife, Elizabeth agrees.  That night, Richard died due to heart-attack, but Elizabeth suspects murder.  Elizabeth is bound to her promise that she will protect Althea and in the meanwhile, has to find Richard's murderer and bring justice.

Although the psychic abilites mentioned are confusing at first, the author had the ability to turn the readers to the thriller part of the book, so that the psychic things doesn't matter much.  The characters are well-formed and Elizabeth's strength of character, Neil's bravery and love, Althea's innocence were all adorable.  The story telling and plot was simple, but efficient.  There were some looonnnggg places with too many explanations, and I think that dragged me out of the thrill that the author was creating through the plot.  If those were avoided, this book would have been absolute faced-paced thriller.

Way to go!  But this is a nice start to a developing series!

BUY @ AMAZON





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