Book Review of The Soul Catcher by Rowanne Carberry @RowRow1990

Book Title: The Soul Catcher

Genre: Supernatural Horror

Pages: 123

Author: Rowanne S. Carberry

Date Published: 30 November 2016

Synopsis:

Spirit-speaker. Death Seer.
To preserve her sanity, Jemma lives her lie—that she is normal. As a child, her psychic gifts cost her everything. So when she foresees a woman's murder, she does nothing to prevent it and unwittingly helps a serial killer get away with another murder.
Guilt-ridden, she reports the crime only to find herself thrown into a world she didn’t know existed. Coerced into working with the police, battling to keep herself alive and dealing with newfound emotions, Jemma is forced to use the gifts she sees as a curse, to save the lives of others.

Review:

The Soul Catcher by Rowanne Carberry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an intriguing supernatural horror story. I really enjoyed it.

Jemma is a wonderful character. I liked her a lot. She pretends that she is a normal woman, but she is not. She can see ghosts and interact with them. When a stranger bumps into her, triggering her psychic gift, she warns the woman of danger. Unfortunately, the woman doesn't take any notice and is found dead. Unable to live with herself after the event, she goes to the police to report her vision. What she didn't expect was to be thrown into an emotional nightmare.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author with no expectation of a positive review; this is my honest opinion. I started to read this book and was quickly hooked. Jemma's vision of the woman's murder is shocking and incredibly chilling. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded. I was intrigued with the supernatural task force that works with the police and liked meeting some of the team members, such as Ripper and Aidan, who each have special gifts of their own. However, I am not overly fond of Detective Mitchell, the team leader. He is incredibly driven and, although I am not sure what his problem is, comes across as a sadistic b*stard and not an entirely likable person. He puts Jemma through hell in an effort to find the serial killer and basically kidnaps her and holds her prisoner until she complies with his demands. This is not the best way to recruit members in my opinion.

The story takes the reader on a journey of horror as the team gets ever closer to the serial killer. He's a soul eating demon and is growing in strength with every soul he eats. However, there is also a touch of romance between Jemma and Ripper. There are no scenes of a sexual nature (apart from kissing) between them though, as there never seems to be enough time for anything more. I found myself on a roller coaster of emotions throughout this book, from disgust at Detective Mitchell's behaviour to sadness at the brutal murders of the innocents by the killer. There's a huge fight scene between the team and the demon, and a surprising twist I didn't see coming towards the end. Although the book doesn't end in a cliffhanger, the author has written it in such a way that it is obvious there will be another book to follow.

Rowanne Carberry has written an intriguing supernatural horror story. This is her debut novel. I love her fast paced writing style, which kept me turning the pages. Her descriptive prose brought the story to grizzly life and it flowed wonderfully from start to finish. My only complaint is that I felt that some of the characters needed a little more development, though this could be easily rectified as the series progresses. I would definitely consider reading more of her books in the future.

Due to scenes of graphic violence and gore and some profane language, I do not recommend this book to younger readers or persons of a nervous disposition. However, I highly recommend this book if you love supernatural or paranormal horror/urban fantasy genres. - Lynn Worton

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About The Author:

Hi everyone. My name is Rowanne, as you may have guessed. I'm 26 and live in England.
I’ve been writing ever since I can remember and it is something I do with a passion. Without it, I'm not sure what I would do.
My genres vary with what I write and I will hopefully be publishing more in the near future. A poetry book is also in the works.
Thank you for taking the time read my page and I hope you enjoy my work.

Author Links:

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