Jericho: A Novel

Alex Gordon’s Jericho is a gripping paranormal mystery reminiscent of Preston and Child’s works, with a hearty dash of Lev Grossman and Stephen King thrown in the mix. Lauren Reardon nee Mullins is now Mistress of Gideon. As a Child of Endor, she is charged with protecting the thin places between the planes. But something dark is brewing halfway across the country, in Oregon. Lauren leaves Gideon in care of its former Mistress and follows the call, determined to stop whatever darkness may be trying to breach the planes. What she finds are disappearances going back many decades.

Beware fallen Jericho. The mining enclave hidden deep in the forests of Carmody Peak harbors many secrets. After being invited by Gene Kaster to join a group of magically inclined people for a mountain retreat at Alexander Carmody’s palatial aeyrie home, Lauren finds more than she expected. The retreat façade hides several hidden agendas, by Carmody, Kaster, and others. They aren’t the only ones either. A shade from Carmody’s past ups the ante for all, hoping to draw Carmody’s daughter, Nyssa, to it. It will take the combined efforts of Lauren and her retreat companions to settle the issue using all their wits and skill.

I absolutely loved this book! I requested to review it on name and genre alone, since my blog is Port Jericho, after a place in my own writing. To me, that’s a lucky title! My only disappointment lay in that this is the second in the series. Gordon does a marvellous job of adding in needed information without it feeling like an information dump. It flowed naturally, as great writing should. I’ve since acquired Gideon and am looking forward to devouring it as quickly as I did Jericho. A note to the grammarians out there, the author utilizes sentence fragments as part of her writing style. I usually find this quite annoying, but here it was used well. Not once did I get irritated over it.

Highly recommended for fans of anything by Douglas Preston and/or Lincoln Child, of Supernatural, the X-Files, and Wayward Pines.