Customer Reviews

Speak of the Devil

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A fun supernatural thriller. Psychic Greer is a massage therapist in a boutique near Los Angeles. She sees visions of the future, and draws information about people through their auras. Her 18 year-old son sees spirits around people in the present. They both keep their gifts secret, believing that one shouldn't profit from such things.

Then they get drawn into a suspenseful plot involving land-developers, and a young gang member who may be headed for prison if not for the son befriending him. Someone is starting fires in the dry countryside near Los Angeles.

The multiple third-person viewpoints include Greer, her son, a pregnant friend of Greer's who may be in danger, and another friend who is trying to start a new life after escaping an abusive marriage.

Negatives: the writing style is workmanlike, the beauty and wisdom of Greer are emphasized a little too frequently, and the first chapter set in a baby shower with fairly uninteresting women is a little slow.

Positives: the story involving the psychic son grabs the reader. The book gets better and better as you read. The psychic stuff is detailed, believable, and interesting. The subplots are handled with skill and the mystery is well-plotted and involving. Recommended.

I didn't get this book. I gave the vendor a bad rating but after talking to him it was not his fault. he got robbed. I have read small articles on this book and feel it would be great to read. I do think that communication is necessary between seller and buyer if problems arise.

BEVERLY HILLS--Reviewing Shari Shattuck's latest novel was both exciting and surprising. Her writing style is like none other. You feel like these are real people in her mysteries and I couldn't make the beautiful diva admit that she's actually writing about real people. Her response, after laughing, "Come on Tommy, you know these are all characters I made up in my own head." Sure Shari, but they say truth is better than fiction. Except when the fiction is dished out by Shattuck herself.

Knowing Shari as a beautiful lady and actress for years, I didn't know she had so much wit and intrigue rolling around her head. "Speak of the Devil" follows the path of Greer Sands, who has a unique talent for seeing glimpses of the future and reading auras-especially those of her friends and neighbors.

While at her friend Jenny's baby shower, Greer has a terrifying premonition of a devastating wildfire. The frightening vision is interrupted by Jenny, asking Greer to predict the gender of her unborn child. Greer envisions a lovely baby girl, but she also sees that the mother may be in mortal danger. Now Greer needs to follow the clues and her visions before everything she loves goes up in flames.

What is amazing about the book as well as other Shattuck novels is that you really feel a strong bond with her protagonist in this story. Greer is someone we already feel we know and care about and we can see the haunting dangers she sees when she's viewing them. Other times when you are reading a story, you can't become engrossed in the storyline and situations going on in the story because you don't feel you know or even like the protagonist. Not in Shattuck's books. You find yourself more worried about Greer in this story than the neighbors and friends she seems alarmed over. Greer is a woman that can do it all, but her guiding factor is protecting her loved ones. Maybe Shattuck being such a great mother is the reason we find this quality so believable in her novel?

This book is 400 pages and not one page is boring. There is something on each page that makes you want to continue reading. I finished this book in two nights because I didn't want to put the novel down. Now we see what makes Shattuck such a brilliant and talented actress, just imagine what all is going on in her head while she's working. We know while writing, it's always something exciting in her mind.

Greer Sands has a supernatural ability about her. Shattuck has a supernatural ability as a writer and this is a must-read for anyone interested in fiction writing and mysteries.

Greer Sands can see the future at times and read auras - especially those of friends. So when she has a premonition of disaster while admiring a painting, she finds herself entwined in danger that extends to her friend Jenny and her life. Add a son with similar, untrained talents and you have a gripping story any general lending library will find a popular patron pick.

This book kept my interest throughout. The characters are well thought out, and the narrative is very descriptive. I would definitely look for other books to read by this author.

In the national forest town of Shadow Hills just above Los Angeles, Greer Sands has always hid her psychic skills until her friend Whitney's stepdaughter Joy was endangered and local bank manager Leah Falconer too. She came out into open to save the girl and Leah; shockingly her seventeen year old son Joshua displayed the same abilities for the first time, but he remains uncomfortable so they hide his skill to see the future through visions from everyone else (see EYE OF THE BEHOLDER).

At a baby shower for her pregnant friend Jenny, Greer sees a devastating fire threaten her friends and their family. Meanwhile when Joshua meets Simon, he envisions danger and feels a deep need to keep the teen safe. As the community is divided between development and status quo, Greer fears for her friends especially Jnny.

The background serves as a contrast to the feeling that doom is coming to Shadow Hills and the mother and son psychic team who know it is coming feel helpless to prevent it although they hope to keep everyone safe. The relationship between Greer and Joshua augments the strong story line as his newly discovered psychic abilities add tension between them since he still has not come to grips with the gift he does not want; the responsibility is overwhelming. Although the heroine's female friends overwhelm at times the plot, each is fully developed and unique while adding to the sense that a wildfire will destroy the town and much more. Readers will taste the fear of wildfires (see HELL ON EARTH by David L. Porter to understand how gripping in reality this is and how much Shari Shattuck captures this fear factor) in a deep paranormal thriller.

Harriet Klausner