Monday, March 26, 2018

Anne Bishop - Lake Silence

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .
After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.
Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive.


Comment: Being  a fan of the author's writing style, of course I couldn't say no to dive in to her latest book, another installment in the Others series but this time the setting is different, even though we still recognize some names and places.

In this new adventure we get a new main character as well. Vicky DeVine is a woman used to be mistreated and bullied but she feels her luck would change after a messy divorce that gave her only a rustic resort near Lake Silence and some peace of mind. Things seem to go well enough, she managed to make some friendships in Sproingers, the nearby city, and she has finally a lodger after all her effort. The problems begin when that lodger wants to heat up an eyeball for breakfast not only starting a huge problem but also revealing herself as an Other, a detail Vicky hadn't really thought about.
However, the eyeball belonged to a man killed in her propriety and it seems that he might have something to do with Vicky herself, even though he wasn't anyone she knew. When things get even more difficult, will Vicky feel her Other "friends" are those she trust?

Once again, I enjoyed a story by this author but I kind of hoped I would. Any text I write about this author's work will be repetitive but she has incredible talent thinking about the little details, as are, for instance, the technicalities of how to be fair in construction work, a little detail that doesn't influence the story line at all but that enriches the character's actions and decisions and makes us care a lot more for Vicky, because she is honest and reliable.

Vicki is clearly the heroine and not only because she is the main character. Anne Bishop does like to put the good traits of a person in evidence, especially in stories where we also have beings that can the total opposite due to their nature or temperament. It's always rewarding to think if we were to all behave as honestly and respectfully about nature, other people and animals around us, life would be fair and good for everyone. In real life we don't have beings to establish control over things like justice and punishment without human action but it's certainly a lesson to imagine how it would be if it wasn't so. In this regard, mrs Bishop did/does a great job with her Other books.

As for the plot, of course bad guys try to harm Vicky, of course their methods are careless of what is good and fair. It's, however, always a pleasure to see bad guys being punished before they kill/maim/forever destroy good characters. There's a sense of justice in the non-human beings in these stories that I love and feel always completely vindicated in a way that in real life, sadly, doesn't happen.

Compared with her other five previous installments in the Others world, this one was a little more obvious when it comes to a potential romance. Nothing happens, so don't get any hopes up. This is clearly not a romance based story but there are some nice touches here and there. Perhaps this would be what I would love to be different. That the social/romantic differences between Others and the good humans thy help and grow to care about wouldn't be as obvious and more romantic relationships could exist. Still, I can just accept friendships and camaraderie among those who live close by and develop interesting if not solid connections.

I'm very glad the good guys always win and bad ones get their deserved punishment. Decidedly very gratifying, especially when considering unfairness in real life. Some people comment on the violence content but I don't think it's that negative; there are books out there much more remarkable and vivid in violent scenes or situations.
This fantasy story works out very well despite the details that (personally I think ) could be improved or changed a bit.
I'll definitely keep reading this series.
Grade: 8/10

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