Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic (m) Burke, J. 2009 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | FICTION BURKE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Who is Tyler Hawthorne? Beneath the Caribbean Sea, a salvage diver hears an eerie voice calling to him from the wreckage of a nineteenth-century ship. In return for promised riches, the diver becomes the servant of Adrian deVille, Lord Varre, the creature who has called to him. It's a bargain the diver will come to regret. Varre enlists him in a hunt for a man named Tyler Hawthorne.Ten years later, in a canyon in the foothills above Los Angeles, Amanda Clarke has become curious about her new neighbor, Tyler Hawthorne. He's not home much, but others tell her that her new neighbor is about her age -- twenty-four. He's also wealthy, handsome, and single.Amanda soon suspects that another description can be added to the list of Tyler's attributes: con artist. When Tyler shows up at the hospice room of her friend Ron and tells the dying man he'll live, Amanda angrily resents Tyler for giving Ron false hope.Until Ron begins to recover.Although Tyler continues to puzzle her, Amanda finds herself drawn to him.Tyler finds himself drawn to Amanda as well, but he has a secret he must keep from her: he's been twenty-four for almost two hundred years.Two centuries ago, he bargained for his life. In exchange, he became a Messenger, one who hears the final thoughts of the dying and conveys those last messages to their loved ones. Since that time, his life has been nomadic and -- except for the companionship of a remarkable black dog -- solitary.The dying also convey messages to Tyler and now they are hinting that his long service may be coming to an end. He begins to hope that he can return to a normal, mortal life and allows himself to grow closer to Amanda, unaware that he is being pursued by an old enemy who will stop at nothing to destroy him and that he can only leave his role as the Messenger behind at a dreadful cost.
Author Notes
Jan Burke, an award-winning mystery writer, holds the distinction of being the first woman novelist to win the Ellery Queen Mystery Readers' Award. She was also awarded an Edgar for her Novel, Bones. Her popular mystery series features the newspaper writer Irene Kelly, who lives and works in Southern California.
Burke was born in Texas. With her family she moved to Southern California when she was a young girl. She attended California State University, Long Beach, earning a degree in history. After graduating, she worked for several years as a manager of a manufacturing plant. Her first novel, Goodnight Irene, was written during those years. Goodnight Irene was well received and the Irene Kelly series has grown in popularity with each subsequent novel. Other notable works from the series are Dear Irene and Hocus.
Her works include Bloodlines, Kidnapped, The Messenger, and Disturbance.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this outstanding supernatural thriller from bestseller Burke (Kidnapped), her first venture into paranormal territory, Tyler Hawthorne, a British officer wounded at Waterloo, receives a memento mori ring on the battlefield from "Messenger" Lucien Adrian deVille, Lord Varre. The ring grants the wearer immortality, but in exchange Tyler must forever comfort the dying. Tyler also gets Shade, a black cemetery dog, for protection. In the present, a salvage diver uncovers Adrian's remains in a ship sunk in the Caribbean in 1815. A resurrected Adrian uses the diver to help locate Tyler in Los Angeles, where Tyler is attending to a leukemia patient. Tyler, an ageless 24, has also fallen for wealthy Amanda Clarke, who's haunted by family members killed in an accident that she survived. Mutual attraction and a dedication to do good unite the pair against the evil Adrian. Shade lends a distinctive Dean Koontzian flavor to the action, while Charlaine Harris fans will appreciate Amanda's ghostly abilities. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Almost two centuries after he started doing the dreary work of the Messenger, Tyler Hawthorne finds himself stalked by the Faustian no-good who baited him into it. Severely wounded in the Battle of Waterloo, young Captain Hawthorne was lying half-buried under a dead comrade when suddenly a hand was extended to him, along with a proposition. He could be hauled free, healed and fixed at age 24 forever. The catch: Tyler had to become the Messenger, someone who serves the mortally ill by appearing at deathbeds whenever summoned, ready to tune into last thoughts and carry out last wishes. Tyler's benefactor, if that's what you want to call him, was one Adrian deVille, Lord Varre, who promised that if Tyler accepted the mission, he was prepared to surrender a magical mourning ring, share a portion of his magical powers and, most important, part with Shade, a magical cemetery dog way smarter than most humans. Quelling an instinctive distrust, Tyler accepted the offer. Now, in the early 21st century, he's managed to complicate his attenuated life by falling in love with adorable 20-something Amanda Clarke, a May and December romance like no other. On top of that, after 194 yearsand for reasons readers may have difficulty swallowingdeceitful, black-hearted Adrian wants to renege. Sudsy and unpersuasive. Fans of Burke's justly admired Irene Kelly series (Kidnapped, 2006, etc.) may follow Adrian in demanding a renegotiation. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
The good news: after two centuries, Tyler Hawthorne can give up being a Messenger charged with listening to the thoughts of the dying. The bad news: his replacement is the woman he loves. And his worst enemy is back. With a ten-city tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.