Review The Departed by Shiloh Walker
FBI Special Agent Taylor Jones has made it his mission to save those in harm’s way by any means necessary–including employing psychic agents like Desiree “Dez” Lincoln, who can communicate with the disembodied spirits of the dead. Taylor is haunted by his own ghost, his kid sister, gone missing at age six. For a quarter of a century he has been tortured by her loss and the mystery of her disappearance.
A NIGHT’S INDISCRETION
When Dez is seriously wounded, Taylor can no longer hide his feelings for her. Getting involved could spell disaster for both of them–not to mention those who rely on them for help–but once Dez lays her hands on him, he can’t resist the fierce attraction. But after giving in to his desires, Taylor pulls back, and Dez strikes out on her own.
AN INESCAPABLE PASSION
Responding to the call of another anguished spirit, Dez is led to Taylor’s old hometown. As the two are forced to come together to save a girl in peril, Dez may be able to help Taylor finally find the answers he’s been looking for…
Dez is exactly like the way i would imagine most people who talk to the dead are, tormented, odd, driven, self sacrificing, yet inherently good, internally knowing that they MUST do this unable to sit, unable to let go, because they are more than aware of the consequences of just standing by. Dez, a beautiful woman haunted, literally by the pull of ghosts with whom she communicates and helps them to find their killers, who are then able to let go and cross over.
Taylor her by the book, perfecty pressed boss, who cares more for Dez than he wants to let on, deeply concerned for her after a difficult rescue finally gives in and sleeps with Dez and afterward “for her own safety” benches Dez, to make her have to not solve any crimes for a month, pushes her to quit and strike out on her own.
Fast forward a year later, and they are both in the same small town, Dez pulled because of not one but two ghosts and the prescence of some pretty nasty characters, and Taylor because its his hometown, the anniversary of a death, and pulled by Dez.
The Departed strikes a good balance between romance, suspense, ghost whispering paranormally, and police action. We get around a lot of the “logigstical” issues that could arise due to Taylor and Dez both working for the FBI, so we can see them take the lead on the cases they work, interacting with suspects, witnesses, in the hospital, etc. Unlike other such stories, due to how Ms. Walker places Taylor and Dez our view as readers in unimpeded which makes this all the more interesting and vibrant a read.
The missing, the mysteries surrounding both deaths are not for the faint at heart. They are deeply complex, emotional, painful, disturbing, sad, and well you get the gist. The evil in this book is so all encompassing, it sticks with you long after the work has ended. Its the kind of evil thats pervasive, you see it everywhere until you just let go. The worst part is, this is entirely realistic. It wasn’t some crazed ghost going around lopping off heads, its the type of story that wouldn’t be out of place on the evening news so its even more distasteful to process.
While I understood the love story between Dez and Taylor, I don’t feel we got enough of both of their personalities to make this a love story. We got plenty of them, and them together, them working together, them fighting their attraction to one another, but nothing that indicates that it wouldn’t just be a run of the mill 3 month affair that ends because there wasn’t enough emotionally to sustain them. I didn’t see enough of them to fully believe the romance.
I did however, get super creeped out by The Departed, and I was grateful for the underlying romance that was able to smooth out the story and make me happy at the end while still trying to rub off the goosebumps it created.
Overall Rating: B+
