Dark to Mortal Eyes by Eric Wilson

Josee Walker has returned to the hometown of her birth parents with her mind full of questions of why she was given up for adoption. Her birth father, Marsh Addison, a wealthy vintner, wants nothing to do with her because of what she reminds him of. But Kara Addison sets out to an arranged meeting place to meet the child she gave up years before. But when Kara disappears and her car is found at the bottom of a ravine, Marsh, Josee, and a local police officer are forced to join forces against something evil and sinister that wants to control them. Marsh discovers something uneasy about his father's past, and Josee discovers something terrifying about her boyfriend. Before they know it, they are thrust into a race against time, fighting against the supernatural and a potential end to the world. It's only a matter of time...

Debut novels from spec authors are not usually very interesting. Eric Wilson adapts a typical save-the-world situation, mixes it with a supernatural plot, a custody case, a kidnapping case, and a few original elements. Perhaps this is the reason for its 400+ page length. Yet I found that the length only prolonged the agony of unoriginality.

The characters lack personalities, yet most of them are imperfect. They make wrong choices that lead to some consequences. Giving the characters personalities would have raised the rating slightly. The villains are quite typical, even though one of their identities is unexpected. Demon possession has been taken to the extreme in villains. It has become very cheesy and sensational and should be discontinued unless it is going to be used in a correct way.

There are many mixed plot elements in Dark to Mortal Eyes. Eric Wilson underlies a chess theme that is used in an un emphasized and interesting fashion. There is virtually no romantic subplot, even though Eric hints at several. This was one of the stronger points because most authors believe that a romantic subplot is a staple to fiction, especially debut authors. A conflict is introduced to whether Josee is really Marsh's child or not, but it was unnecessary because it was resolved. There is one key character who is seized by demon possession but is never recovered from their grasp. Marsh's father is not found to be innocent of the matter in the end.

All these conflicting elements cause this book is be a little above average. It is good to know that Eric Wilson has learned from his mistakes and his written better books since this one. This shows the mark of an author who wants to improve.

3 stars

A Shred of Truth by Eric Wilson

Aramis Black has changed in the months since his encounters with his past and with greed. His half-brother, Johnny Ray Black, is making it big in country music. Aramis' coffee shop, Black's, is successful. Things are quiet until Aramis discover Johnny Ray tied to a statue one night with the letters AX carved into his back. From there on out, Aramis begins to meet people from his past he thought and wished he would never see again. Someone begins writing notes to him telling him that they have his mother, who was assumed dead for years, in custody. Johnny Ray doesn't believe it, but Aramis does. He begins to compile a list of suspects all while trying to hold his life together. He teams up with Freddy C, his homeless friend, in order to find some answers. But Freddy C knows more than he lets on. Aramis is grasping for a shred of truth no one seems to have.

The Best of Evil

was fine in itself, therefore I am pretty sure that it did not need a sequel. All A Shred of Truth does is taint Eric Wilson's previous 100% Elite rating. Eric always had trouble with his ends, but this time, he had no safety net.

The characters remain the same as they were in The Best of Evil, which is a plus because this does not happen often. Often times, authors will get lax on their characters and let their personalities slide. This was not the case with A Shred of Truth. Aramis, Johnny Ray, and the rest continued to be the same, proving that Eric Wilson cares about his characters. Any extra characters are at least interesting. Eric even threw in several fake villains. The character department is not something Eric struggles in.

Plot elements is a mixed area for Eric. He tends to stray from romantic subplots are at least create different romantic subplots. He knows how to add tidbits of history into his plot in places that need flavoring. Eric creates one key character death and surprises readers with his choice of villain. The looming problem with this book is its cheesy end. I was sure that Eric was going to have Aramis' mother being alive be a hoax, but I was wrong. Eric surprised me in this way, not a good way. He even used a cheap "suspenseful" showdown scene to free her from her bonds. This was uncharacteristic for him as an author.

I do not wish to think that Eric Wilson is sliding as an author and running out of good ideas. I can only hope the A Shred of Truth was a hiccup in a better career stretching ahead of him. I hope he finds his way back to the originality before it's too late.

3 stars

The Best of Evil by Eric Wilson

Aramis Black and his brother, Johnny Ray, have moved to the outskirts of Nashville to start a new life away from their home in Oregon. Aramis has opened up his own coffee shop while Johnny Ray pursues his country music dreams. Aramis's world is changed when he witnessed a murder right in his own shop. While the police close his shop for investigation, Johnny Ray leads him on a wild goose chase concerning gold, Meriwether Lewis, and their mother. When the investigation of the murder is over, Aramis discovers that Johnny Ray has signed him up for a new reality show called The Best of Evil...When Good Things Happen to Bad People because Johnny wants him to reconcile with a family member in his past. With all of this coming down on Aramis at the same time, he finds himself once again calling upon the name of God for help.

Eric Wilson abandons his supernatural roots with The Best of Evil and creates a realistic mystery. Eric has a lot of deep-seeded originality, but his knack for fixing things gets in the way of true greatness.

As usual, the characters are superb. Aramis, Johnny Ray, and several others are imperfect with personalities, something Eric Wilson learned early on and has continued since. Good characters are key in fiction, especially mysteries and suspense because authors can get bogged down in action and forget about giving attention to their characters. Eric Wilson has never done this, making his books stand out of their genre.

The Best of Evil

can not be considered suspense because it is based on normal, everyday life. There are many subplots contained in Aramis's life, and this is realistic because everybody has a lot going on. As usual, one of these is a romantic subplot, but Eric finds a way to end it very originally, making it the highlight of the book. The murder subplot ended next to perfectly, as did Johnny Ray's music subplot. These two subplots are the things that tie this book down from true greatness. had these been eliminated, we could have been looking at a five star book.

Nevertheless, Eric Wilson has proved to be one of the most prolific authors on the market with his deep-seated originality. I expect more great things out of him in the future.

4 stars

Expiration Date by Eric Wilson

Clay Ryker has just discovered something very disturbing about himself-he knows when people are going to die. Just by touching them, he knows the date of their eminent death. He has returned to Oregon from Wyoming in order to escape from his broken family life. He has moved back in with his parents and sees many things throughout his hometown that remind him of his childhood. But the death dates he knows are wearing on him and causing him to go crazy. Things become even more disturbing when a common date appears among people. He goes to the police, but they only cautiously believe him. Someone is playing a game with him, and they hold all the cards. Clay just needs to do everything he can to stop the approaching deaths.

Expiration Date

begins in the theme of Jonah in that Clay has to warn the town of coming disaster. He has the same personality as Jonah, and Scripture verses at the part changes indicate the author's intentions of this parallel. It's just a shame that Eric Wilson abandons this creative theme in the end. There are many strong points throughout the book that put this book on the Elite List, but a weak end makes it fall short of perfection.

For starters, the characters are good. Clay is a good, imperfect lead with a personality. He is very much alike Jonah in that he does not necessarily like people. The other characters are good as well, proving that Eric Wilson does not write cheap novels. I was skeptical about him at first, but clearly, he has most of his ducks in a row.

The book has a strong foundational idea. The gift of knowing people's death dates is innovative and used and presented properly. The gift genre is an unknown genre most people do not think about, but some of the best books come from this genre.

The book is long and drawn out, but it is necessary because Clay does not know what the numbers on his hand mean at first. Realistic events happen throughout the book to cause this book to be placed outside of the supernatural genre and give it a normal feel. The supernatural touch is slightly necessary and not overdone to the point of sensational. The showdown is kept to a minimum and not overdone. The biggest problem with this book is the fixing of one thing in particular. With the way Eric had the book written, an original end would have caused the book to go on longer. Eric did the best he could under the circumstances.

All in all, Expiration Date was an enjoyable read that I do not regret. I look forward to seeing what Eric will do next.

4 stars