IMPRINTS; Rachel Ann Nunes; Shadow Mountain; April 2010; $17.99
Some LDS-authored stories need to be approached with caution. They are often shallow and a little sappy.
"Imprints" is a refreshingly different story.
The main character — Autumn Rain — might have been fashioned after the lady on "The Good Witch's Garden" in that she exhibits the same sort of self-assurity that makes it possible for her to go about without shoes, eating only healthy choices and reading imprints from all kinds of items without apology.
Not to say she isn't aware that her gift is an oddity and causes her some difficulty in life, but she hasn't let it isolate or diminish her.
In fact, she's quite bold in some of her decisions and choices.
She involves herself quite readily into a situation that's dangerous. Never mind that she never met the young woman she's knows to be in trouble
.
She goes where angels fear to tread
and she doesn't escape the consequences.
This is a story that moves right along with twists and turns that surprise even if it seems the plot might be predictable.
It's hard to tell for sure who are the bad guys and who will come through.
It's also a sweet love story as she tries to sort out her feelings for her friend Jake and private eye Ethan McConnell.
Nunes is a good storyteller, keeping the pace up without exhausting the reader as Rain goes undercover to find the truth among what appears to be a do-good cultish operation.
Nunes also does a good job of educating the reader about the world of a woman with a gift for reading the telltale psychic clues left on jewelry, pictures, clothing and keys.
She helps the reader understand a person whose diet choices are based on animals and the environment being treated well.
And she does this without coming off preachy or holier-than-thou.
This book makes for a good, quick read when one is in the mood for something a little unusual but still believable.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com