Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you’re all doing well. Today I’m posting my review of Kelley Armstrong’s first novel in her Cainsville series, Omens.

Omens by: Kelley Armstrong: Olivia Taylor Jones has lived a very cushy life; with two rich parents, she’s never had to worry about much. But when the news comes out that they aren’t her biological parents, two very famous serial killers are, her life flips upside down. Left to flee the city of Chicago to get away from prying media, she finds herself in the town of Cainsville. Left to her own devices she finds a place to live, a job and begins investigating who her real parents are. With the help of Gabriel Walsh, her mother’s old lawyer and a man from Cainsville no less, truths start to reveal themselves one at a time. This was a dark and spooky mystery thriller that really gripped the reader from the first chapter. The way Armstrong started to weave the webs of this town was so well done. She doesn’t give us everything at once, but lets it come out naturally and with time and how it all connects slowly is just so interesting. The reader can’t wait to read more; but with that it’s also hard not to compare this series to her other Rockton book series; this series was started before her Rockton one, but this reader can’t help but notice some of the similarities between the two. They both take place in a small/secluded town; the main character is a woman leaving a place she knew, starting a new life; she finds herself partnering up with a man who has a troubled past but is also a native to this small town. This is only the first novel but we wouldn’t be surprised if these two become more than just business associates. Even though this has similar vibes, and would have come first, that didn’t stop the reader from enjoying this because Armstrong is a strong and creative writer. This had more supernatural elements and that was a lot of fun to explore because it gave this story a thriller edge. The mystery aspect was good, but it felt like we had one mystery wrapped up in another, which kind of lost the original plot for a bit. This ended where a few things were wrapped up, but there are still so many loose threads that need to be tied. Armstrong didn’t leave it as a cliff hanger per se, but it’s enough that kept the reader engaged and needing to know more. The reader has so many questions left not just about the story, but about the characters too because they are heavily developed but they are so deep that we haven’t come close to revealing everything. Even though we’ve been told certain details about these characters, the reader is still suspicious of them because they are more than what they seem and Armstrong is so good at creating characters who are intense in this way. They are all messy and that’s what makes them interesting; the reader can’t wait to see how they develop over the course of this series. All in all, this was a fast-paced, moody and very intriguing start to a series that fans of Armstrong’s writing will enjoy immensely.