BOOK REVIEWS

Touch of Fate

Christine Amsden

ISBN:  1-931201-97-8

Jennifer Andrew

Touch of Fate is a paranormal story about a woman named Marianne who has an extraordinary gift – a gift of foretelling the future.  When she can’t change the course of events, she feels powerless and as though it runs her life.  After moving to St. Louis because of the signs, she meets a group of women who share her gift.  When one of the women in the circle gets killed, a good friend, she tries to do all she can to help catch the killer.

The story grabs you from the first sentence and pulls you in.  The main conflict in the story is with Marianne.  She has a special ability but feels she can’t do anything to stop events from happening, although she tries to on some occasions.  The plot was quite clear and the pace was just right to keep your interest in the main character and the supporting characters she meets in St. Louis.  Touch of Fate moves along from one event to the next without any downtime.  The subplots gave as much information required and only focused on the main characters of the story, using the minor characters as emphasis. 

The characters came to life and practically jumped off the page.  Marianne Waters, Detective Derek Richards, Suzanne and Jean had qualities that any reader could relate to while reading the story.  They were well-written, with a history which made them stand out.  The dialogue was good and kept in step with the story.

The setting was the present day and time, and didn’t deal with aspects that were unbelievable.  Since foretelling is not out of the ordinary, whether it’s from reading cards, palms or the zodiac, figuring out future incidents is not something that we couldn’t grasp.  Christine Amsden takes a phenomenon and makes it into a very interesting story.  The timing and order of the events were consistent, leaving the reader anxious to see how the detective was going to solve the case.

Touch of Fate is written in third person but you are able to delve into all of their minds, giving you a peek as to what they were all about.  This amazing, easy to read book, will keep you mesmerized from page to page.  Don’t let the label of paranormal turn you away.  It is far from a book about ghosts or goblins, but a story of a brave woman trying to live with a gift she doesn’t understand it to be a blessing or a curse and feels the need to keep silent. 

Christine Amsden makes the storyline seem real; putting the character in a situation that we can all relate to in all walks of life.  The title catches your attention, the descriptive back over brings you in but the story keeps you at the edge of your seat.