Welcome to my tour stop for Seeing Evil by Jason Parent! In his second novel, Jason Parent flawlessly blends a bit of paranormal into his psychological thriller; the result is something you'll want to read for yourself! This tour runs from September 2nd - 16th and consists of reviews, guest posts, spotlights and interviews. You can check out all the details and get more information on the tour page!
Author: Jason Parent
Available Formats: eBook & Paperback
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Publication Date: 08-04-15 Pages: 242
Fate in plain sight.
Major Crimes Detective Samantha Reilly prefers to work alone—she’s seen as a maverick, and she still struggles privately with the death of her partner. The only person who ever sees her softer side is Michael Turcotte, a teenager she’s known since she rescued him eleven years ago from the aftermath of his parents’ murder-suicide.
In foster care since his parents’ death, Michael is a loner who tries to fly under the bullies’ radar, but a violent assault triggers a disturbing ability to view people’s dark futures. No one believes his first vision means anything, though—not even Sam Reilly. When reality mimics his prediction, however, Sam isn’t the only one to take notice. A strange girl named Tessa Masterson asks Michael about her future, and what he sees sends him back to Sam—is Tessa victim or perpetrator?
Tessa’s tangled secrets draw Michael and Sam inexorably into a deadly conflict. Sam relies on Michael, but his only advantage is the visions he never asked for. As they track a cold and calculating killer, one misstep could turn the hunters into prey.
Major Crimes Detective Samantha Reilly prefers to work alone—she’s seen as a maverick, and she still struggles privately with the death of her partner. The only person who ever sees her softer side is Michael Turcotte, a teenager she’s known since she rescued him eleven years ago from the aftermath of his parents’ murder-suicide.
In foster care since his parents’ death, Michael is a loner who tries to fly under the bullies’ radar, but a violent assault triggers a disturbing ability to view people’s dark futures. No one believes his first vision means anything, though—not even Sam Reilly. When reality mimics his prediction, however, Sam isn’t the only one to take notice. A strange girl named Tessa Masterson asks Michael about her future, and what he sees sends him back to Sam—is Tessa victim or perpetrator?
Tessa’s tangled secrets draw Michael and Sam inexorably into a deadly conflict. Sam relies on Michael, but his only advantage is the visions he never asked for. As they track a cold and calculating killer, one misstep could turn the hunters into prey.
My So-Called Review:
Several months ago author, Jason Parent, contacted me and asked if I’d like to review his upcoming book Seeing Evil. As book bloggers we get these requests a lot, I wish I could accept every book that comes my way but I can’t so I must be choosey in which ones I agree to review. I actually do my homework first; I chat with the author, check out their website & bio, read any reviews of the requested book on Amazon and GR, read reviews of previous books, etc. I expected I’d be doing the same with Jason’s request, but then I read the synopsis he sent me. I love thrillers that are centered on teenagers and immediately I detected a little Dexter vibe but with bullies and a paranormal twist, which I love when it’s done right. I knew in that instant I had to read this book! After chatting with Jason I learned the book wasn’t scheduled to be released a few more months so I’d have to wait since I only like to review books right before a release or sometime after. As summer vacation started winding down I began to get really excited at the prospect of finally cracking this one open. Then I started to wonder if I was getting too excited, was I overhyping the book in my mind? You know what can happen with that! In the end, I decided to stop over-thinking things and just read. It didn’t take long to realize I’d worried for nothing; this one lived up to my expectations and then exceeded them!
Our story opens with detective Samantha Reilly arriving at a murder scene. Before her is a very gruesome and disturbing scene, not just because of the multiple bodies but because of the little boy who sits, trance-like, in the middle of it all. Young Michael Turcotte witnessed something ghastly that day and immediately Samantha has the feeling of wanting to protect and shelter him. Moving forward 11 years to the present day, Michael is now a young teen who is just starting out high school. He’s been in and out of several foster homes and the only true constant in his life is still Samantha. Michael is a quiet kid who tries to keep to himself but one day he attracts the attention of a nasty group of bullies. While having to endure some of the nastiest bullying possible Michael suddenly lets go mentally and begins to have some sort of vision. In this vision Michael sees another tortured boy, his only friend at school; kill the ring leader of the bullies. Michael gets increasingly frustrated when no one will believe him, not even Samantha; until it comes true, exactly how Michael described it.
Seeing Evil is an extremely fast-paced book and the opening chapters are seriously some of the most disturbing scenes I’ve ever read all in one book! So be warned, if brutal murders, child abuse, extremely graphic bullying, and severe punishments and discipline are triggers for you then you might want to skip this one! Honestly, sometimes I have a hard time reading these scenes but Parent writes in such a fluid, mesmerizing and realistic way that I found I couldn’t stop! I was also oddly fascinated and equally terrified of the villain in this story. Don’t want to give too much away but sometimes it’s the very real, every day occurring evil that is the scariest! The rest of the characters are filled with such a depth of emotion that you normally don’t find horror/serial killer stories. I really enjoyed this aspect and it allowed me to become even more invested in the story and each character’s outcome.
From start to finish I absolutely loved Seeing Evil, this is a superb thriller with that perfect touch of paranormal! If you’re a fan of dark and twisted thrillers that also maintain a wonderfully crafted, complex story line then Seeing Evil is definitely the book for you. This is one of those books that will make you think and it will make you cringe, but it certainly won’t let you forget it once you’re done reading!
A huge thank you to author, Jason Parent, for providing me with a complimentary copy of his book in exchange for my honest review! And another thank you to Sage’s Blog Tours for putting on such a fabulous tour and allowing me to jump on board :)
About the Author:
In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls Southeastern Massachusetts his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides with his cuddly corgi, Calypso.
In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge... as a civil litigator. When he tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried, and finalized within the 60-minute time-frame they see on TV, he traded in his cheap suits for flip-flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field... sorta. But that’s another story.
When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except for the one with that ball tied to the pole
In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls Southeastern Massachusetts his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides with his cuddly corgi, Calypso. In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge... as a civil litigator. When he tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried, and finalized within the 60-minute time-frame they see on TV, he traded in his cheap suits for flip-flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field... sorta. But that’s another story.
When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except for the one with that ball tied to the pole
Thank you for participating in the Blog Tour for my novel and for the wonderful review! If your readers have any questions, I am happy to answer them, here or through any of my sites/social media links. Thanks again!
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