Customer Reviews

Future Imperfect Book One: Crucifying Angel

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I can hardly wait to start on Book Two. This book Crucifying Angel, is fantastic! For me, it began kind of slow but it took off like a roller coaster. I was up half the night reading this book. I am definitely hooked on this series. Future Imperfect Book One: Crucifying Angel

A must read, Barrington's clever and engaging dialog and unique storyline is a page turner.

The year is 2032 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and life as we know it has changed drastically. Years earlier, the ozone layer was depleted resulting in limited sun exposure to its inhabitants; toxic pollution destroyed the water supply, and animals, in order to survive, were forced to resort to cross-breeding. Crime runs rampant in Las Vegas.

This is the world in which Detective Payce Halligan and her new partner Detective Gavin McAllister must uphold the law. Payce and Gavin have more in common than they know. Each inwardly struggles to overcome a past tragedy that has affected them forever.

The two detectives team up to catch a serial killer with a disturbing past. All over Las Vegas, women are turning up dead in the empty half finished buildings that dot the remains of sin city. Things turn even uglier when Payce and Gavin split up to try and uncover clues to the identity of the serial killer and Payce suddenly goes missing. Gavin's frantic search for his partner reaches a dead-end until he receives a phone call from a 15-year-old boy named James who has just escaped from a cult-like commune known as The New Creation. James believes someone from New Creation is responsible for the recent crucifix killings. Together they wind their way through the maze of mines located beneath the city in an attempt to find Payce before she becomes the next victim of the Crucifying Angel.

Future Imperfect Book One: Crucifying Angel has all the nail-biting suspense of a Dan Brown novel with a cliffhanger ending that leaves you wanting more!

Set in futuristic Vegas, we find that "Sin City" has lost none of its debauchery and in fact has only added to the reputation that anything goes. When Payce Halligan is assigned a new partner she is understandably horrified, working alone has created a bubble where she is not responsible for the life or death of someone close in her work. After being responsible for the death of her prior partner and love she has hardened her heart and does not plan on changing that any time soon. However, since she does answer to the head of the Las Vegas Police Department she gets no choice in the matter.

Her newly assigned partner Gavin McAllister is a good looking trainee with a faint British accent. He is an addition to her work she is not sure she is ready for.

When they are called out to three separate crime scenes, all with the same M.O. they find themselves on the path of a fanatical serial killer. Each of the victims is a young woman, hung upside down and crucified, left to bleed out and with initials carved into their bodies. The ritualistic killing makes Payce think of the Amazon Casino where Costumes are still used so this is where their investigation begins. Little do Payce and Gavin know that they are about to become the hunted in this bizarre fantasy being followed by a madman.

PI Barrington brings to life a very real future. Her characters are very likable and have a great sense of humor even in the dire situations that they find themselves. The story is fast paced and hard to put down, move over J.D Robb, here comes another look at the future. A gritty Las Vegas is an exceptional setting and P.I Barrington has a knack of making you feel like you are there. This is a great book to ad to your library, you will love the interplay. I can't wait for the second installment.

On a discussion board at Facebook's Reviewers Roundup Group, the author stated: "I'm writing crime thrillers where action HAS to happen. I give my major characters HUGE interior conflicts to deal with and over or not overcome as they jump through physical hoops and various opposition."

All, I can say is--Whew, she certainly does!

I just finished Book One of Future Imperfect: Crucifying Angel by P. I. Barrington this morning. As soon as I read the final words, I was ready for Book Two! Action-packed and thrills move the final climax of this explosive book on as quickly as you can scroll! (I was reading a PDF version.)

In the future, in the State of Nevada, the heat is high, the climate dry; the crime rises as the sun does, as people strive just to meet basic needs to keep living. And yet, they still flock to the Adult Disneyland where gambling and everything else goes on 24/7.

Payce Halligan is an experienced detective; however, she is just getting back into the routine. An accidental shooting had resulted in Payce killing her partner--and lover. Everybody had thought she would be too traumatized to come back at all; that she was back already was a testimony of the amazing woman she was.

But today wasn't going well; she had just been assigned a new partner, Gavin McAllister. and wasn't happy about it, assuming he was a trainee. In reality, he had been a high-placed officer before he had left his last job, his own country, his past life and arrived in Las Vegas Nevada. He, too, had faced loss--his wife and son. Immediately afterwards, he had gone a bit crazy and had developed a "ladies man" reputation which was already affecting his new location, as Payce's fellow workers were concerned that she not be hurt again.

Both might have recognized the attraction to each other, but there really wasn't time to even think about it...

They were already moving to the crime sites of women who had been murdered through reverse crucifixion. The letters C. A. were etched into their bodies. Because of the weapon that might have been used, Payce immediately thought of The Amazon, a casino where original costuming was used. By the time they made their rounds, they had found 4 bodies in 24 hours!

They lunched together at The Amazon and started discussing how to proceed, but Payce suggested that they split up, choosing what she wanted to do and giving grunt work to her new partner.

And then Payce discovered that one of the girls had been a member of a religious group in the desert, the New Creation. They learned that she had a friend, Edana. Calling Gavin to meet her there, they soon started discussion with Terrien Frye, the public representative. He was known as the Rattlesnake handler.

Two of the dwellers at the New Creation soon came, separately, to them to discuss further what was happening. Together with Edana, they returned to the Amazon; there was a security guard that might have a connection to what was happening. Leaving Edana in the car, Payce and Gavin entered The Amazon and once again Payce suggested they separate. The last time Gavin saw her was when she entered the ladies' restroom...

Gavin is given a hard time by his co-workers and he finds himself working alone to try to find his partner. Only James, the teenage dweller, comes and leads him to a very old research facility, that still functioned, but was not being used--for the original purpose that is.

There you have the basic storyline--the characters, the action, the adventures faced by Payce and Gavin, along with Edana and James, drive this book into a frenzy that is unstoppable.

Until the Crucifying Angel is stopped...

Futuristic equipment, inventions, computer control--all the things we love to read about are here for you! Just be careful--the snakes have been created with artificial jaw expansion... Enjoy!

Book Received Via
Facebook Reviewers Roundup

G. A. Bixler

Barrington creates a futuristic world full of heart pounding suspense with "Crucifying Angel." Set in Las Vegas in the not so distant future, detectives Payce Halligan and Gavin McAlister must solve a series of bizarre crimes before the murderer strikes again.

Barrington moves from thrill to thrill with ease. Her writing is crisp and the pace flows well. She uses a good economy of words to describe her futuristic world, painting a vivid setting for the reader.

Both Gavin and Payce are interesting characters, and come to the story with scared backgrounds. Payce accidently shot her last partner during a confrontation and is now finding her emotional scars healing. Gavin, who is British, had to witness the death of his family. His emotional scars still haunt him. How Payce and Gavin grow and deal with their pain is a joy for the reader to discover. Their courage and dedication are traits to be admired. Ralphie K. Teon as the "Crucifying Angel" is the perfect villain. Instead of taking his tragedic past and using it to inspire him to be better, he twists it into a morbid cause.

"Crucifying Angel" is a suspense that will take the reader on a pulse-pounding thrill ride and give them an ending that begs for a sequel.

Excellent book! It has it all - action, suspense, futuristic/sci fi, and some romance too. The two lead characters are very interesting and the pace of the book is fast. I loved it!

'The heat sent mirage waves up from the ground, making the air in the distance wiggly and unfocused. Payce eyed the endless highway that ran through the desert toward the city the cops liked to call The Adult Disneyland and sped the unmarked car toward the first homicide scene of the day. Gavin sat silently in the passenger seat taking in the long highway and the endless desert around them. As they headed into town, a handful of cars passed them by, some filled to the brim with would-be partiers; others having one lone driver heading away from the one-armed bandits that ate up wages like candy.'

The year is 2032. The place is Las Vegas. The crime is crucifixion. Payce Halligan and her new partner Gavin McAllister are in route to their first crime together. After the death of her last partner, Payce became a loner and resented her boss coupling her with someone new, especially a foreigner. Gavin left Scotland Yard, after loosing his wife and son, to start life over. He was impressed with what he saw in his new partner but had a feeling that she might end up being a real problem for him. But Payce and Gavin pushed their baggage from the past aside and jumped into their first crime together.. the death of a woman hanging from an inverted cross.

As I read Crucifying Angel I had one author and book come to mind.. Stephen King and The Stand. P. I. Barrington has picked up where King left off with his story about Vegas. Reading Crucifying Angel was like riding a roller coaster that went up and up and when you thought it was time for it to come down it simply dropped a few feet and continued to climb. It's story, characters and time setting are all very realistic and believable. And the ending? There is no ending and I'm looking forward to Barrington's Future Imperfect Book Two - Miraculous Deception which comes out in June, 2010 and will continue the story.