Eye of the Storm: Eilida’s Tragedy

Eilida suffers from amnesia, the result of a head injury when she frantically runs away from a horrific murder scene. While Eilida recuperates in the hospital, Sunshine, a local newspaper receptionist, not only begins to have strange dreams and paranormal occurrences connected to Eilida’s past, but also takes on Eilida’s character at times. After further investigation including sneaking into Eilida’s hospital room, Sunshine concludes that she must be Eilida’s twin. Yet to confirm her theory, Sunshine has to retrace Eilida’s steps, beginning with the murder investigation. As the puzzle pieces come together slowly, the truth unfolds. But it is more surreal than one can only imagine.

Rising author Elle Klass takes the paranormal to a different level in her latest novel. While there are scenes reminiscent of the movie The Sixth Sense, Klass draws readers into the dark and disturbing world of two young women. Eilida is desperately trying to recall her memory. Concurrently, Sunshine, who appears to be quite a levelheaded gal on the cusp of marriage, begins seeing people that no one else sees—not to mention that the weather suddenly turns stormy with her apparitions. But before a scrolling marquee of “I see dead people” runs across reader’s thoughts, Klass’s plot splits into different directions—between Sunshine’s seemingly split personality and her relationship with one guy (Jay) while she prepares to marry another (Jerry), her involvement in the murder investigation, and her delving into parapsychology and hypnosis in the hope of getting answers to her personal connection with Eilida.

In the first book in The Ruthless Storm Trilogy, Klass’s sinister tale is replete with a small but well-developed cast, many of whom function as foils to enhance the principal characters, Eilida and Sunshine. Of course, included in the mix are a tight handful of antagonists who throw all sorts of twists and turns into the plot. Speaking of twists and turns, Klass’s narrative includes a unique point-of-view design. Alternating between the first-person viewpoints of Eilida and Sunshine, and a third-person unnamed narrator, Klass cuts down the confusion between the various voices and adds nuance in the process to those title changes by replacing each woman’s name with symbols: Eilida (◊◊◊◊◊) and Sunshine (☼☼☼☼☼). While all of these elements keep the plot flowing, Klass also throws in a few hot and steamy romance scenes, as well as quirky but eye-catching word plays, such as Dr. Jekal, Eilida’s chemistry professor, and Dr. Weered, Sunshine’s hypnotist.

An absolute thriller from beginning to end, Eye of the Storm: Eilida’s Tragedy closes with a cliffhanger that will keep readers anxiously waiting for its upcoming sequel, Calm Before The Storm: Evan’s Sins.