Customer Reviews

Kindred Spirit

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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This is the best book I've read in a long time. Passarella sure knows how to keep us on the edge of our seats throughout the stories he spins, and we, his readers, love him for it. The connection between Hallie and Heather both before and after Heather's death was touching. This book has some really awesome twists that you just don't quite see coming. You may think you have it all figured out, but he throws a few loops at you! And not since Aycliffe's Naomi's Room have I been so moved by a 'ghost story'! 5 Stars all the way!

Heather and Hallie Moore were identical twins. As children the two were so closely connected that they could actually speak directly into each other's mind. That ended at the age of ten. Heather fell from a tall tree and was in a coma for a week. Things were never the same again.

The girls grow up into adulthood. Hallie becomes a reporter for NBN-7 News in Pennsylvania. Her segment is called "Hallie's Comet". She gives out awards for "the best" in businesses.

Heather gets married to Tom Galloway and has a son, Shane. She even has a home business involving homemade gift baskets. However, she only gets to see her son reach the age of five. Heather is violently murdered on a roadside one night while driving home from her yoga class.

On the first anniversary of Heather's death, Hallie goes to the site of her sister's murder. A small white cross marks the spot. The instant she touches the cross, Hallie is mentally bombarded with visions of Heather's last moments. Upon awakening, Hallie finds her sister's golden locket. The locket had disappeared the night Heather died; which means the killer had come back to the scene recently. Feeling her sister is with her some how, Hallie begins looking into Heather's last days. Hallie has been close to Tom and Shane, seeing them almost daily. Therefore, it is not difficult for Hallie to talk Tom into letting her go through Heather's home office. Odd things begin happening to Hallie, especially in her own apartment. Visions, all the electrical appliances go wild, floating objects ... and that is only the beginning. Hallie better work quickly, because Heather's murderer is getting prepared to kill again.

***** I could not decide if this should be labeled as "Horror" or "Paranormal Thriller". One thing is for sure, this story will send chills up and down your spine. It is so creepy that I had to stop twice and take a breather. When the phone rang near me I actually screeched. Yes, I SCREECHED! Author John Passarella is well known for his skills in creating horror stories, but his poison pen is even more lethal in the paranormal thriller realm. I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on this outstanding novel. I cannot recommend it highly enough. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

John Passarella is back again weaving a fine paranormal thriller for the reader to unwind. I have read his Wither Trilogy and have been a horror fan for a long time. So I was intrigued when I found out that he was striking out on a new path with "Kindred Spirit". As to be expected he is back at top form with his character development and his ability to weave the reader right into the story.
Hallie and Heather have always been close being that they were identical twins. They were so close that they knew what the other was thinking but Heather's childhood accident changed their relationship and it took one year to the day of the seemingly senseless murder of Heather to reestablish that bond between them. While visiting Heather's road side memorial, Hallie senses Heather and relives her murder and this experience has changed Hallie. Struggling with her sister's murder being unsolved she works to make sense of the facts of her case and the weird things that have started to happen around her.
Can Hallie use her abilities as a news reporter at NBN-7 to help her solve her sister's murder and bring closure to herself and those Heather left behind? The line between Hallie and Heather blurs and Hallie must redefine her identity and recognize what is most important to her.
"Kindred Spirit" is chock full of creepy moments and will have you jumping at the slightest sound as you enjoy the way this thriller plays out.

When I started reading Kindred Spirit I had expected it to be written in the same tone as Wither. John has done a wonderful job of changing his literary voice to fit the tone of the story. I was fascinated and intrigued by each page. I felt for Hallie and Heather, their plight, their connection, and the people who love them.
It's a great read, that will have you wondering exactly how everything is going to turn out.

John Passarella shows he's a master of suspense with this one. Hallie Moore is a newscaster who starts having strange things happen to her on the anniversary of her sister Heather's death. Who was killed by a strange man. Hallie is looking into the unsolved crime when she's visted by her sister's ghost...but the ghostly presence seems to have sinister intentions. If that were not enough the killer is ready to do so again and has his sights on Hallie. Will the killer get Hallie like he got her twin? To find out buy the book!! John outdid himself with this one! The ending had me in tears!!! Buy it, you won't be let down!

"Kindred Spirit" is John Passarella's latest novel, and his first truly solo work; his Wendy Ward series ("Wither", "Wither's Rain", "Wither's Legacy") started off as a collaboration and his Buffyverse work is, of course, based on the characters created for the TV series. Perhaps one shouldn't be surprised that this is a slight departure from his norm, given the situation. "Kindred Spirit" still easily falls into the horror genre, with scenes not written for the faint of heart and the connection to the dark unknown, which lies at the heart of so many of our fears. And John certainly doesn't pull punches, or take the easy way out of a plot tangle; in fact, the points at which he didn't take the obvious and safe path are what make the plot fresh and interesting. "Kindred Spirit" is, at its heart, a mystery, and a tale of a young woman putting the past (and a few restless spirits) to rest while she comes out of her shell of shyness to find her place in the world. Other reviewers will undoubtedly recount the plot scene by scene, so I will be content to say that "Kindred Spirit" is a good read, well worth the time spent, and will leave you wondering how long you will have to wait for the sequel to continue the story.

Learn more at the author's web site: http://www.passarella.com/kspirit.htm

Heather and Hallie are identical twins. As children, they shared everything including their thoughts until an accident jarred their close association. Now seventeen years later, Hallie, a TV news reporter, is starting to have frequent glimpses into her sister's mind. Not unusual due to their past history; however, unusual due to the fact that her sister has been dead for a year. Heather had been brutally murdered, and ever since Hallie visited the graveside memorial she is receiving images of her sister's last days on earth. Will she be able to help solve her sister's murder with a little help from beyond the grave?

Kindred Spirit is a spine-tingling read. It has a lot of spooky material, and you can't wait to read what happens next. Since the book deals with ghosts, I would label it as a paranormal thriller. This book is a bit scarier than the Wither series as it deals with real people, and not supernatural creatures. You can easily be drawn into the characters' lives and the line between reality and paranormal is blurred enough to be believable. I wish to thank John Passarella for writing another gripping tale.

Bram Stoker award winning author John Passarella weaves a tale of twins, Hallie and Heather Moore, in Kindred Spirit. Heather is a successful television reporter, who, a year after Heather's brutal murder, revisits the scene of her murder, and is haunted by visions of the event, from the perspective of Heather! Uneasy about the situation Hallie begins her own investigation. Is her sister calling out to her from beyond the grave? Is her spirit not at rest?

John Passarella, author of the successful Wither trilogy, weaves a tale of suspense that keeps you riveted to the end. Rarely do I encounter a book that I can't put down, but I'm happy to say that this is one of those books. You can't help but feel for the sisters as the story unfolds, they become more than characters in a story; you can feel them breathe as if they were in the room with you.

I couldn't recommend this book more for those fans of well written suspense, and horror. John Passarella delivers on all fronts. His Wither trilogy was a well written series of books, and with Kindred Spirit he has taken the next step. His writing is haunting, and yet comforting as the story unfolds. John Passarella is a talent that you shouldn't miss!

Kindred Spirit brings us into the lives of Hallie and Heather, twins who share a very special bond. As it happens, Hallie and Heather can speak to each other without talking and it's not until Heather falls from a tree and breaks her arm that things between them become different. Years later, having begun separate lives (Hallie as an up and coming news reporter and Heather as a wife and mother), Heather is murdered quite brutally. Even with this tragic event, life seems to be moving forward normally...that is until the one year anniversary rolls around. Hallie goes to the memorial site and upon touching the cross that marks the site, she is transported to the night of her sister's brutal attack and relives it in every grisly detail and from here on out, things are never quite the same for Hallie. Once the vision is over, she finds her sisters heart pendent in the grass at the site of her attack and she knows instantly that the murderer has recently visited the site.

From this moment on things in Hallie's life become less than ideal, she's having trouble on the job, she's losing time, constantly tired, feeling a much stronger connection to her brother-in-law and nephew and doing things that she's never done before...things that Heather used to do and it's at this point that she knows she has to figure out who killed her sister. What follows is a kind of supernatural amateur sleuth story that is both frightening and suspenseful.

Hallie uses her connection to the news station, her psychic connection to her dead sister and her own wit and wisdom to work on solving this mystery before the killer strikes again. For me Kindred Spirit was a tad predictable, as I figured out what was going on and the ending well before it ended, but still enjoyable. I wouldn't be inclined to add this to my permanent collection, but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes amateur mysteries with a paranormal bent. I give it a B, it's not a bad way to spend a few hours being entertained, but it's not the best out there.

I've been a big fan of Passarella's Wendy Ward novels and couldn't wait to get my hands on Kindred Spirit. Once again, he doesn't disappoint.

Kindred Spirit is an intriguing supernatural suspense novel that will have you flipping pages long into the night. You really get into the lives of the main characters and feel their fear as they plummet into the unknown. I won't spoil it, but there's a scene involving a pair of ghost hunters that is not to be missed. Definitely hair raising!

I'd say this is a great summer read, but that would not be entirely true. This is a great read any time of year.