Spark
Cindy Little
World Castle Publishing
October 31st, 2016
Reviewed by Stuart Conover
Cindy Little’s debut novel, Spark, shows great promise for her future in the horror genre. Spark is the tale of paranormal investigator Dr. Simone Brimlow, who is investigating the mysterious and gruesome deaths of college students in Independence, Texas. Working with Dr. Neil Stanton, she must stop this supernatural killer before it is too late. It is a modern day paranormal mystery and adventure which has just the right mix of humor and horror without going overboard.
I’m always skeptical about paranormal mysteries as too many can fall into overly familiar tropes or lean far too much into being a paranormal romance, but Cindy doesn’t make either of those mistakes. Right from the get go we not only get action and setup, but it’s done so in a way that wants us knowing the answers to the questions which we’re given. All of this without any of the initial murders happening!
The narrative itself jumps from different points of view through the story but is done fluidly and at chapter breaks. Some of the lengths of chapters varied a bit much but, for the most part, eased you through the story. The character development of the lead characters was spot on, though some of the victims felt slightly two dimensional.
Overall, Little delivers on a solid premise and hooks you in quickly as to want to know more about what is going on in this college town. Spark is a fun novel and a great first one at that. Little looks to have a lot of raw creative talent and not only was this a fun read but an author I look forward to seeing more work from in the future.
