What often catapults a story from very good to outstanding is the underlying comparison of what is a well-balanced, utopian societal family that is compared to characters who are enslaved because of psychological or moral trauma. In Vision of Power by Charlee James, we have page-after-page of engaging trauma without the energizing contrast.

Lead characters Kinley Wright nee Miller, a detective, and Easton Adair, an FBI agent, have enough personal trauma to overwhelm an entire college of social workers plus psychologists. In addition to them, a serial killer who first tortures young girls before ending their lives. The only one to escape is Kinley. The reader is spoon-fed this information in a lengthy prologue that for all intent and purposes dulls the story’s overall suspense. Like sugar, the horror would’ve had greater effectiveness if sprinkled in like Easton’s backstory.

The plot is simple and straightforward. Without a spoiler, it’s the so often common thread of a woman in peril seeking justice that borders on revenge. There are threats, e.g. a note under a car wiper blade, left vague by no detail, as if handwritten (spur-of-the-moment) or typed (planned and premeditative). There is a woman found dead, murdered, in a Victorian house. While this may have been an opportunity to connect society to the characters, it doesn’t. Kinley refers to the house as the “Addams Family House,” but the out-of-balance sitcom was not known for its crime drama.

If the reader loves high-speed car chases, you’ll find them a constant companion, even if it glosses over the injuries caused by flying glass. The verb “loves” in the prior sentence was deliberately chosen. Trauma, car chases, and murders overpower the interjected romance between Kinley and Easton, often presented as tingling, unadulterated lust.

In sum, a dark, intense, non-stop read that won’t answer your exam question about the big bang theory.

I received an advance review copy from BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Author Donan Berg is an AuthorsDen author with twelve novels featured, including three gold medal winners. Check them out.