Krishna
Just a note that my rating of a book is dependent on how well it does what it sets out to do. So, for instance, a fluff story is not rated against a serious book, because the first one does not even try to educate but only to entertain.
This book does its entertaining well. But it is all fluff, and some of it is even like a Hollywood Action movie.
Jesse dreams of sinking into solid ground and pursued by ghosts.
Joe Bailey is a person who investigates fake supernatural event and also helps police (being in the police force). He is called to a murder investigation where he sees the victim nailed high to the wall through a model spire. He meets his friend Carla Fisk there, part of the police investigating team.
The investigating officer Mark Howe, does not think a ‘Spirit Basher’ like Joe is required in the investigation. The body was that of Dr Robert Nelson, a professor and his girlfriend came into the house and found the body. She thinks that the boy Dr Nelson was studying, Jesse Randall must have killed him because Jesse was telekinetic and made objects move through his mind alone.
Joe tries to check out any phony set ups in the house by his tracking devices.
Meanwhile Natalie Simone is selling illegal guns to Lyles whose reputation makes her nervous.
Mark continues to show animosity with Joe. Jesse is cornered by and tortured by paparazzi. Garrett Lyles, watching from afar is furious at the treatment. He lures the reporter lady.
Meanwhile Joe talks to Jesse. And angers him and finds that the elevator that takes him home breaks apart on its own and he barely escapes.
When Joe is tormented by a cruel bully, Lyles steps in to help him and is shocked that Jesse ‘does not know who he is’, as Jesse is the Chosen One and he, Lyle, his disciple.
When Jesse makes some figurines topple from the shelf in front of both Joe and the Principal, he is intrigued. The book is full of details on how fake miracle workers work and dupe the gullible, which makes it a very interesting read just from that one point itself.
Joe brings his daughter to see Jesse but angers him a lot by making his mom cry. When he goes to the library to find out how Jesse does these things he sees the library shelves coming crashing down by themselves. He still is skeptical.
He contacts a spiritual medium Suzanne Morrison who is also into debunking fake supernatural events and is surprised that he likes her.
But when he cannot explain Suzanne’s seance and when he sees the boy flip some random pages he is truly puzzled.
There is a red haired man in Nelson’s videos that puzzles Joe. In addition, he finds that a couple got one hundred sixty thousand dollars from Dr Nelson and that Nelson had access to money way beyond his capacity to earn and the puzzle deepens.
When Joe is kidnapped in a brazen manner from a theatre using gas to make other faint, Lyle tries to save him almost getting killed but is unable. But he loses one of the tiles, tipping Joe off that a member of the cult Millennial Prophets is involved.
When Jesse is captured and a ‘friendly’ girl persuades him by playing good cop, it is not enough that he moves objects but they want him to control live things. When they realize that it is pain that he uses to control it, they get very wary and – to his secret delight – fearful of him.
Meanwhile Joe falls for Susanne.
There are twists and turns galore. You realize that the hotshot lawyer, who came to protect Jesse (for free to gain the fame) is actually a member of the Prophets, as is a billionaire who contacted Joe.
Susanne tries to explain how Jesse’s flying objects from shelf was done and you alternate between belief and doubt as both sides of the ‘miracle’ are alternately shown to you. Well done, Roy!
But the explanation is fairly lame. How does Jessie do it if he is a fake? Interesting explanation. Hope Roy’s explanation is scientific (as it sounds a bit like weird science).
The ending is really spectacular, especially the explanation as to how the bizarre Nelson murder happened. Also nice (though a bit contrived) is who kidnapped Jesse and who else was involved.
I like the ending about Susanne’s powers to communicate with the dead relatives.
All in all, an enjoyable read
7/10
– – Krishna (Feb 2019)