Canyons of Night-Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle

Canyons of Night
Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle
Jove, Aug 30 2011, $7.99
ISBN 9780515149883

Fifteen years ago on Rainshadow Island, Charlotte Enright was recued by her hero Slade Attridge from the assault of three drunken off islander visitors near the Preserve. She already had a young girl’s crush on the orphan teenager before he saved her. She explained she could read auras, a useless talent for an arcane while he never was registered as a hunter but will soon leave for the Federal Bureau of Psi Investigation academy.

In the present, Charlotte runs her late Aunt Beatrix’s Looking Glass Antiques. Slade has just retuned to be the island as the police chief though his talent has become somewhat muted after a traumatic incident though his buddy Rex the dust bunny remains at his side (and on his shoulder). As the pair starts seeing one another, she finds the corpse of a persistent customer who her father felt was a stalker; someone killed Jeremy Gaines in Charlotte’s shop.

The final Looking Glass sci-fi romantic suspense (see In too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz and Quicksilver by Amanda Quick) is an engaging and delightful paranormal police procedural. The romantic subplot within the Rainshadow otherworld realm leads in a slow deliberate manner until the homicide investigation begins about half way into the story line, but still does not pick up much speed. Still fans of the Arcane Society saga will enjoy a visit to the island of Rainshadow.

Harriet Klausner