Customer Reviews

Midnight Revelations (Dark Whispers)

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Midnight Revelations by Karen M Bence. ISBN 978-1-56-345414-0
Reviewed by Chris Phillips.
Is there a point at which the rational can no longer be reconciled with the facts? How is one to judge the difference between that which the senses reveal and the spirit world shows beyond those senses?
Bence takes these questions and answers them for Sara Miller, her husband David, and their son Jack. This mystery, and perhaps even horror story, is a tale that grabs the reader and does not let go. The Millers move into a dream home. Yes, there are problems from the past that they are dealing with this way, but it is always with hope and dreams that they moved into this new house. And for the Millers this was a dream-come-true house. There is plenty of room on this Virginia farm for horses to run and dogs to play and, last but not least, a family to grow together after a heart wrenching loss.
Sara is the main character. The tale begins with her finding a mirror that came from the home she now owns when it was abandoned by the previous owner, Patrick McHugh. The McHughs are a mysterious family with much tragedy and darkness concealed from the community in general. The mirror reveals things that Sara cannot explain. Even Jack her son sees images there that only hint at mystery without revealing any depth. Then a few boxes of old books are found with a journal or diary locked and still tantalizingly attractive.
As the story progresses other things begin to build into a hodgepodge of hints and dark feelings. Sara, and Maria, her adopted mother far away in NYC, both experience nightmares. Tragedy strikes again, but this time history is repeated with a more positive possibility. All this adds up to difficulty and grief for Sara and her little family.
The characters are so real and finely wrought that family portraits appear in the reader's head. Sara, of course, is very well developed. But Emma, the horse caretaker, and Carlos, the farm hand, are as real as Donna, the aunt, who helps out in the most desperate of circumstances. David and Jack fill out the family well with the honest feeling of people known and life experienced with.
The plot is thoroughly twisted and yet very tightly maintained. When, in the course of the story, the dreams and visions come they are so forceful and traumatic that they impede real life, then logical responses no longer matter, and the spiritual ones take over. There is no variance or drifting with Bence's writing. She is able to weave a complicated and intricate tale while maintaining flow and consistency.
This is a great read, and this reviewer cannot recommend it heartily enough. It was a pleasure to read from cover to cover. It was difficult many times to put the book down and return to real life. Bence has some real experience with grief and presents a wonderful and satisfying course for others to follow when grieving. Then she also deals with adoption, and birth parents, very practically. Any reader should enjoy and learn from reading this book.
[...]

Sara, her husband, David and her son, Jack have just moved to Virginia. They have found the perfect house with lots and lots of acre for their horses. While out and about something catches Sara's eye. It is a large antique mirror. Sara walks into the antique shop and inquires about the mirror. The shop owner tells her that the mirror actually came from the house that she and her family just purchased. Sara buys the mirror and brings it home. That is when all of the strange things start to happen. First Sara sees a woman in the mirror, then Sara locates a locked diary. When her son has an accident, Sara seeks the help of the church hopefully that will be enough. There is something evil lurking in Sara's home and it wants her to know the truth but at what price?

Midnight Revelations by Karen M. Bence is book one in the Dark Whispers series. From the first page you will be drawn into Sara's world. It consists of evil presences, a mysterious man and the a desire to seek the truth. Ms. Bence's writing style is right on. Instantly you get an image of what she was trying to bring to the story. Sara is a very likable character. The storyline for the most part was good but for me I just wished the spook factor would have been turned up a few more notches. Other wise I had no problems with this book. So for anyone looking for a quick read, then you should give Midnight Revelations a try.

This book is a classic page-turner! I had no intentions of staying up as late as I did to finish it, but each page draws you into the story deeper and deeper. The author writes in a style that is highly visual and I could swear I was right in the action during various scenes. The characters are very believable and you find yourself rooting for Sara to press on and solve the mystery. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a fast paced thriller with a little paranormal activity in it.