The Hour of Predators by Lane Stark

Title: The Hour of Predators
Author: Lane Stark
Genre: Mystery/Horror
Publisher: Self published (March 22, 2012)
Available: $2.99 at Amazon
Rating: 4.5 stars
Rater: Dihanna

From the author:

"It was the hour of prowling bears, circling nightowls, vengeful spirits, and savage hearts. It was the hour of predators."

Two gruesome murders have shocked and divided the community of Bella Coola, a small, isolated village in a remote river valley on the coast of British Columbia. The evidence points to a teenaged Nuxalk boy, and the simmering tension between whites and tribe members heats up. RCMP Inspector Marcus Chao must sort through misleading clues, cultural conflicts, tangled relationships, sexual scandals, and even rumors of sorcery to find the truth.

Marcus is a man whose life has skidded into remorse and misery. His own infidelity has ended his marriage to the woman he still loves, and now he finds himself with only two things to keep his sinking spirits afloat: the need to serve justice and his eternal fascination with solving the puzzle of the crime. This latest puzzle, however, is proving to be a maze of intrigue, and his mettle as well as his principles will be tested.

Warning: Potential Spoilers!

What I liked: This writer writes extremely well, and she draws her characters with true skill. They’re clear, and believable. The plot is logical and well thought out. The mystery is not completely predictable. I read this in one day because I wanted to know what happened.

What I didn’t like: This story is just too grisly for my tastes. Central to the plot is the repeated rape of a teenage child. The descriptions of the murders are too graphic. I felt upset pretty much throughout the entire book. From the technical, the story jumps around far too much, and that makes it extremely difficult to understand and follow.

In sum: This book should be regenred as horror. For the folks that like those stories, this book is doubtless well worth the read.