Shade of Pale
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A “fast-paced and entertaining” tale of a New York psychiatrist, an Irish terrorist, and a seductive banshee from the author of Horror Show (Library Journal).
Manhattan psychiatrist Jukes Wahler first spies her through a deli window: a stunning redheaded beauty who turns to look at him before she vanishes down the street. Then a patient tells him about a woman who’s been stalking him, convinced that she’s the banshee, the Irish angel of death. She’s young, beautiful . . . and has red hair. It must be a coincidence, right? After all, the patient is dangerously delusional. But Wahler soon has other things to worry about. His sister, Cathy, and her abusive boyfriend are missing, and his only lead is Padraic O’Connor, an ex–IRA commando and the leader of one of Northern Ireland’s most radical terrorist groups, who will offer his help—for a price.
Filled with larger-than-life characters, including a jaded cop with no patience for the paranormal, a beautiful professor who specializes in Irish mythology, and a centuries-old protector of the innocent, Shade of Pale tells a fast-paced story of fate, vengeance, and love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Although the mythical Banshee--the traditional Celtic angel of death--gets this would-be thriller off to a seductive start, San Francisco radio host Kihn (Horror Show) weighs his tale down with clunky prose and eventually allows an initially intriguing plot to deteriorate into a shambles of wimpy protagonists and cartoonish villains. When highly neurotic New York psychiatrist Jukes Wahler is referred a patient who believes he is being stalked by the Banshee, the doctor realizes that he has recently encountered an ethereal red-haired woman who fits the same description. Secrets from the ancient Book of Kells, an Irish terrorist, a serial killer and various exploding (or imploding) corpses decorate a story line that also features a likable quasi-psychic cigar-smoking cop and an appealing love interest: a sexy professor specializing in ancient Irish mythology. Unfortunately, this potentially potent Celtic witch's brew is drained of its magic by sappy dialogue, inane metaphors and wooden exposition. The serial killer is unmasked far too soon and, at the end, the ineffectual hero still has feet of clay. What promised to be a spellbinder disintegrates into a mawkish parody of itself.
