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DARK AURA
Diana O'Hehir
Berkley Prime Crime
ISBN 9780425217535 (Hardcover)
December 2007
Mystery
aid to be in possession of a mystical indigo aura,
certain individuals known as the "indigo babies" have
become important to the residents of Stanton's Mill,
California. When one such person, a fifteen year old
girl called Tamina falls tragically to her death, part
time sheriff deputy Carla Day must find out if she was
pushed (murdered). Her investigation goes slowly as she
begins to question people who knew the girl. Carla's
attention is divided by her "day job" working at the
care facility where her elderly father, Edward, is a
resident. Dr. Day suffers from Alzheimer's, but someone
in Stanton's Mill is concerned what secrets the gentle
old soul might be carrying within his fading mind. Will
Carla solve the mystery before any other tragedies
befall the "indigo babies"?
DARK AURA gives readers a glimpse into an idealized
caricature of a small coastal mountain community, new
age religion, and hippie-esque culture which includes,
predictably, drugs. Carla, with the aid of her father,
Egyptologist Dr. Edward Day, sets out to sort through
the rumors and folklore in search of a killer and the
supposed missing indigo babies. Could the key to the
mystery be hidden behind Dr. Day's early-stage
Alzheimer's? The confusing, almost scattered
narrative might be by design, perhaps as a nod to Dr.
Day's condition, but this reader found the story hard to
follow at times and all too easy to put down.
Given my background as a native of Northern California
and a fan of mysteries (cozies in particular), I really
wanted to love DARK AURA but sadly, I do not. However, I
did find some of the characters, such as Carla and her
father to be charming and so I would be willing to try
the previous two stories in this series ERASED FROM
MEMORY and MURDER NEVER FORGETS. Adult children caring
for parents with Alzheimer's is becoming increasingly
common in today's society and I applaud the author in
her endeavor to present a realistic dynamic of a family
touched by this illness.
Reviewed by Melissa Fowler
Rating 2 |
