Larsen Vale has the gift of Sight, though she thinks of it as an evil curse rather than a gift. When she sees her own death at a wedding, terror has her running away. Jack Hallihan is a detective tracking down a man who is assaulting women. He’s cursed with hearing unintelligible voices in his head… voices that are driving him crazy.

Chance contact has Jack discovering that Larsen’s touch has the ability to quiet the voices. When he finds her right after she runs out of the wedding, narrowly avoiding being murdered, though they don’t trust each other, they must work together. The albino man who wants her dead is the same man assaulting the women, but he’s no man at all. Now Larsen and Jack are in a race against time to track down this monster, before he can unleash a great evil on the human world through The Dark Gate.

What a fascinating story! Pamela Palmer has hit on a completely unique and individual tale with her debut, The Dark Gate. One of the absolute best things about this story is that I rally didn’t know what was going on until the last third or so of the book. I loved the opportunity to guess my way through it, thinking I knew what was going on, only to find out I was completely wrong. I love a good dark and suspenseful paranormal tale that thrills and chills and The Dark Gate fits the bill perfectly. This book is everything I expected the Nocturne line to be.

The story behind the albino man (whose name we don’t even learn until well into the book) had me intrigued. I wondered who or what he was that he had the ability to control people’s minds like he did. I also loved the guessing games I played as to why he was here and why he did the atrocious things he did.

Larsen and Jack made such a perfect team. Doubtful of each other for a long time, neither trusting the other, they have to learn to overcome their fears and put their trust in someone else if they hope to get through this supernatural battle. Watching their relationship grow kept me hoping they’d work everything out to find the love they both deserve. Both of them struggle daily with their respective gifts, fearing they will eventually destroy each of them. As their love develops and grows, the discovery they are the answers to each other’s unspoken prayers makes for a very powerful story.

If you don’t already own The Dark Gate by Pamela Palmer, go buy it now! This is a highly emotional, brilliant paranormal suspense novel sure to provide plenty of entertainment. Even better, more books in the series are in the works.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, October 2007. All rights reserved.