Madeleine Frank, born and raised in America, is the daughter of a mentally unstable Cuban mother and her father is an internationally prominent English artist. After losing her husband Forrest in a freak accident during a hurricane, Madeleine flees her island home in Key West, Florida and follows her parents to the ancient city of Bath, England to start life anew. Training and practicing as a psychotherapist, Madeleine has finally found a measure of peace through helping others.
Though devastated by her loss, her grief covers another much deeper scar from her past. Madeleine's demons have never truly left her and may, in fact, be closer than ever - in the mad visions of her mother, formerly a priestess of Santeria, the mysterious Afro-Cuban religion. Rachel Locklear appears in Madeleine's office, seeking therapy. A hostile, deeply mistrustful, and severely damaged young woman - Rachel is willing to try anything to break away from her Ukrainian lover, who has subjected her to years of cruelty and brutality and now threatens to kidnap their son.
As Madeleine learns more about her patient's history, she becomes increasingly troubled by the eerie similarities she discovers between Rachel's childhood and her own. Reluctant to act unprofessionally and risk having Rachel walk out of her life forever, Madeleine keeps her suspicions to herself. But she is unaware of the sinister forces gathering strength in her patient's life. Desperate to keep her son safe from his father's ruthless "associates", Rachel eventually has no choice but to involve the only person she can trust in a murderous web of revenge and deception.
From the tropical lushness of Key West to the imposing Georgian streets of Bath, two women with painful pasts collide dangerously with a world of Cuban sorcery, prostitution and cold-blooded murder - culminating in a tale as terrifying as it is compelling.
I have to say that while this book certainly had an exciting plot, I found that it was just a bit too convoluted and slow for my taste. In my opinion, this book was definitely not quick reading, and I had to give it a B+! However, I'm certainly interested in reading Kitty Sewell's debut novel, Ice Trap at some point.
Though devastated by her loss, her grief covers another much deeper scar from her past. Madeleine's demons have never truly left her and may, in fact, be closer than ever - in the mad visions of her mother, formerly a priestess of Santeria, the mysterious Afro-Cuban religion. Rachel Locklear appears in Madeleine's office, seeking therapy. A hostile, deeply mistrustful, and severely damaged young woman - Rachel is willing to try anything to break away from her Ukrainian lover, who has subjected her to years of cruelty and brutality and now threatens to kidnap their son.
As Madeleine learns more about her patient's history, she becomes increasingly troubled by the eerie similarities she discovers between Rachel's childhood and her own. Reluctant to act unprofessionally and risk having Rachel walk out of her life forever, Madeleine keeps her suspicions to herself. But she is unaware of the sinister forces gathering strength in her patient's life. Desperate to keep her son safe from his father's ruthless "associates", Rachel eventually has no choice but to involve the only person she can trust in a murderous web of revenge and deception.
From the tropical lushness of Key West to the imposing Georgian streets of Bath, two women with painful pasts collide dangerously with a world of Cuban sorcery, prostitution and cold-blooded murder - culminating in a tale as terrifying as it is compelling.
I have to say that while this book certainly had an exciting plot, I found that it was just a bit too convoluted and slow for my taste. In my opinion, this book was definitely not quick reading, and I had to give it a B+! However, I'm certainly interested in reading Kitty Sewell's debut novel, Ice Trap at some point.
