Currents of Change by Darian Smith has been awarded the Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence for Outstanding Independent Literature. Check out our first review and look for more from us about this talented author!
Our Reviewer Said:
Sara O’Neill flees a violent partner and Auckland city life, for a small (fictional) town in Northland, New Zealand. The depiction of rural life is spot on, as city girl Sara has trouble fitting in, and doesn’t exactly get off to a good start with local Maori woman, Moana who runs the local mini-supermarket. Moana wants Sara’s new refuge, her grandmother’s derelict house, declared unsafe and pulled down, as she believes the place is haunted. For Sara, who is still in the final stages of grief over her dead child, ghosts are the least of her worries. Her immediate need is to fix the house up so that she can live in it. Luckily for her, local electrician and builder Nate Adams turns out to be not just a good tradesman, but a star in the kitchen, easy on the eye – and a widower.
Strange goings on in the house – involving weird electrical surges and lighting effects, encourage Sara to turn to Nate and his daughter Abi, for company. All the real-world characters, including Abi, are three dimensional, and all speak believable dialogue. Sara’s story of domestic abuse is sensitively handled and moving and is a credit to the author’s skills as a writer.
The thriller elements of the story – pace and structure, complete with end-of-chapter hooks, move the story along. The author has a firm grasp of active writing as the balance between telling and showing is perfectly balanced.
But Currents of Change is, as well as a real world story, a paranormal one – complete with cats. There’s a historical element, set in 1835, involving Sara’s forebears, who were early settlers from Britain. It turns out that hidden away in amongst their worldly goods and chattels, was a rather unwelcome other worldly stowaway. Celtic myth and Maori legend combined with romantic suspense add another dimension to the paranormal story.
A well-written book and an entertaining read that has been copy edited and proofread.