"Wonderful!"

The vague ad never explained the job, but offered a 100K so the lines of females stretched for blocks seeming more like a wait for tickets for a Harry Potter movie. Among the tired attendees is Darci Monroe, a waif from Putnam, Kentucky. At her interview, the employer Adam Montgomery immediately eliminates Darci as a hillbilly who cannot help him with his paranormal problem. However, after Darci departs, Adam's consultant Helen says, "she is the one".

Adam grievously recalls that as a toddler, a malevolent individual killed his parents and kidnapped him, but before murdering his mother waited until she gave birth to his sister capable of using Nostradamus' mirror. Adam and especially Helen believe that Darci with her "True Persuasion" mental skills to persuade people to behave in a manner she deems suitable will unlock the past. However, as they work together, they begin to fall in love, Adam has begun to comprehend Darci's skills and wonders if she has employed her "True Persuasion" to make him want to cherish her in the way Kim Novak does to James Stewart in Bell, Book, and Candle.

FOREVER is a combination romance, horror, and a touch of fantasy that cleverly blends together into a strong novel that readers from all three genres will enjoy. The story line contains humor to ease some of the tension. However, what will amaze the audience is how Jude Deveraux uses the same device to either cleverly amuse or frighten the reader such as "True Persuasion". The charming country hick and the desperate big city hunk will beguile fans with this entertaining, fast-paced return to the Montgomery brood.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 19, 2002