Saturday, February 9, 2013
Title: The Halo Effect
Author: Pamela Crane
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Publisher: Lachesis Publishing
ISBN: 978-1897562628
ASIN: 1897562624
Number of pages: 248
Word Count: 76,500
Cover Artist: Laura Givens
Buy The Book:
| Amazon |
It started with a glance. And ended with a nightmare.
Small-town girl Haley Montgomery meets two men who will change her life forever—the handsome Marc Vincetti whom she falls head-over-heels for, and the big-time Hollywood producer Allen Michaels who has the power to turn her screenplay into a movie and a ticket to a better future.
It seems as though life couldn't get any better—until things take a decidedly dark turn when Haley spots Marc with his former high school sweetheart and Allen develops a consuming obsession with her.
As Haley is faced with a choice between love and fame, Marc becomes the target of a stalker and Haley's life is thrown into a tailspin. Suddenly everything she thought she knew about Marc and Allen is completely wrong—and Haley's life will never be the same again…
The thought that kept running though my mind was “WTF is going on” {like riding a roller coaster in the dark}. Two chapters into this book and I remembered the main reason behind my tendency to read more romances than thrillers – romances end with a HEA; thrillers are open-ended. With each page, it got harder and harder to not flip to the last chapter and peek…just to so I could know how it ends. However, I’m so glad I didn’t sneak a peek because nothing could have prepared me for the ending – and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss experiencing the middle.
It was tricky to review this book without giving anything away…
Disclosure: This ebook was provided to me free of charge by Bewitching Book Tours for the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments, and ratings are my own.
What Halo Do You Wear?...And an eBook Giveaway!
Pamela Crane
Sitting
in a waiting room one day, an elderly woman chose the blue-checkered seat next
to me. Dried raisin lips, silver-white permed hair cut in a wash-and-go pixie
style, cheerful blue eyes that sparkled with humor. Immediately I was charmed
as we chatted about this and that—child-rearing, weather, books. Then she said
something that shook me from any plane of normalcy I was perched on.
“I haven’t taken those things for
granted since I was released from jail,” she said as a lull wove its way into our
conversation.
“Jail?” I parroted. Certainly this sweet
old lady with her rose-patterned blouse, A-line skirt, and shape-forming
pantyhose didn’t mean jail…where creeps and criminals go.
“Unfortunately so,” she said. “For
murder.”
Murder? No, it couldn’t be. She didn’t
look like the murdering type—you know, soot-black teeth with an occasional gold
filling, sinister scowl, gang tattoos peeking through a tattered, stained
muscle shirt.
“Wow…” was all I could mutter.
“I murdered my husband when I caught him
in bed with another woman. And I regret that reaction every day. Lost
everything, because I didn’t know how to forgive when I needed to most.”
She went on to share how she was a
homemaker with young kids in a blessed life, but in that single moment she
faced a decision and snapped. She made a mistake and it cost her a lot…but not
everything. After all, she was sitting next to me, a free woman after doing her
time, rebuilding her life and reconciling with her children.
How characteristically human she was.
My debut psychological thriller novel, The Halo Effect, deals with exactly this
type of person. A regular Joe—or Josephine—slapped with a tough choice but who
makes the wrong one…and costs many a lot. The story follows a woman, Haley
Montgomery, in the small town of Westfield, New York, as she sets out on a path
of self-discovery after years of living for her lonely widower mother. Then
Haley stumbles upon the man of her dreams—Italian stallion Marc Vincetti—and
the job of her dreams with Hollywood producer Allen Michaels, and everything
seems so perfect…a glimpse of what most people feel when things are going just
right.
Until Allen’s job opportunity turns out
to have a price tag she’s unwilling to pay, and her love affair reveals an
unwanted third party. People get hurt, people get scared, and people react.
Relationships are destroyed, Allen Michaels is accused of murder, and Haley
finds herself being interrogated by the police for something she doesn’t
remember ever doing. Who is the villain, and who can we trust?
How could these people we’ve come to
adore be so devious? So twisted? The Halo
Effect digs into this human dilemma and shows that among us are lovable
villains. But like with the forgiveness that Ms. Jailbird Golden Girl eventually
embraced, the characters of The Halo
Effect learn that forgiveness is the key to a happy ending.
About the Author :
Pamela Crane is a North Carolinian writer of the psychological thriller The Halo Effect and wannabe psychologist, though most people just think she needs to see one. She’s a member of the ACFW and EFA, and has been involved in the ECPA, Christy Awards, and Romance Writers of America. Along with delving into people’s minds—or being the subject of their research—she enjoys being a wife to her best friend, mom, and riding her proud Arabian horse, when he lets her. She has a passion for adventure, and her hopes are to keep earning enough from her writing to travel the world in search of some good story material.
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to review The Halo Effect and post this. :)
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