Prophecy

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 28 FEB 1994

Horror novelist James ( Twilight ) slowly reveals the connections between a 17th-century necromancer, an archeologist, an actuary, the number 26, a series of horrific accidents and a Ouija session in this complex tale of evil. British museum archeologist Francesca Monsanto meets actuary Oliver Halkin and his son, Edward, at a train station. Unbeknownst to either of them, Oliver, the 24th Marquess of Sherfield, stepped into Francesca's parents' sandwich shop on March 26, 1988, minutes before his wife was hit by a truck and decapitated. Coincidentally, the shop was built on the site of the original London residence of the Halkin family, where, on March 26, 1652, Francis Halkin, second Marquess of Sherfield (who was a necromancer, child-rapist and murderer), was executed by Parliamentary soldiers. In the present day, a romance ensues between Francesca and Oliver. Meanwhile, an eerie series of tragic coincidences begins to afflict the participants in a Ouija game organized by Francesca in 1988. The shocking ending of the work is neatly related to the motto carved on the Halkin family crest: Non Omnis Moriar , I shall not altogether die. ( Mar. )