STORM OF RECKONING - Doranna Durgin
Tor
ISBN: 978-0-7653-6165-3
February 2011
Paranormal Romance

Sedona, Arizona - Present Day

About to return to Albuquerque after their life-altering mission in San Jose, Garrie and her now smaller crew of reckoners agree to help a friend. Garrie, Lucia, Trevarr and Sklayne will meet Quinn in Sedona, as Quinn's former girlfriend, Robin, thinks that something strange is going on. The team isn't exactly ready for another mission, though; Garrie is still struggling to control the new part of herself, something dark that Trevarr transferred to her during their battle in San Jose. The crew hasn't had time to properly research what they are getting into and are still processing the fact that Drew has left the team. Plus, even though he won't admit it, Garrie knows that Trevarr is keeping secrets—and she's keeping a few from her team, such as where Trevarr is really from, and what happened when Garrie and Trevarr went to his world.

In Sedona, a town where many believe in otherworldly things, the reckoners are challenged almost immediately. The proprietress of their inn, in spite of her New Age beliefs, doesn't take them seriously, and her niece, a sensitive with healing abilities, oversteps with Trevarr. Robin had called Quinn, hoping that his mind for puzzles would help her to figure out what's happening in the desert, but her utter disbelief in the paranormal causes her to insult the team and make matters worse. Garrie's very presence riles up the ghosts wherever she goes, and they are very, very angry. Once again, Garrie has her hands full, but this time with a totally different enemy—living people.

A ghost-hunter from a young age, Garrie is being challenged in a way that's new to her in STORM OF RECKONING. She's long since come to control her abilities to call ethereal winds to soothe, help, or banish spirits, but the new abilities she has are raw, uncontrollable, and not of our world. Trevarr is a bounty-hunter from another dimension, and it was only with his help that she survived what happened in San Jose (and in the previous novel, THE RECKONERS). His help came by transferring some of the darkness within him, though, and Garrie is beginning to understand what a struggle simple survival has been for Trevarr. The bonding between Garrie and Trevarr has allowed her the ability to communicate with Sklayne, Trevarr's bond-mate, the not-cat. A being of pure energy that, in our world, takes the form of an Abyssinian, Sklayne often provides comic relief along with warnings and assistance. Lucia, the Latina princess and empath, is aware that something has changed with Garrie, and that she is holding something back. Though a little unsettled by the secrets between Garrie and herself, Lucia nevertheless accepts without question the new and strange things in their team.

The sequel to THE RECKONERS, STORM OF RECKONING picks up where the first novel left off and may be a little difficult to follow if you haven't read it first. Much has changed with Garrie and her team since the beginning of the series, and it's probably best to read the books in order to know how these changes came about. Doranna Durgin has created a fascinating, if unusual world which is showcased in STORM OF RECKONING.

Jennifer Bishop