Against a Brightening Sky (Delia Martin, #3)

by Jaime Lee Moyer

[kimbacaffeinate]

Against the Brightening Sky takes place in the early spring of 1919. Delia awakens to find the spirit of a young princess in her bedroom, but she and Gabe have plans with their friends Jack and Stella, so she decides to deal with her later. The group of them along with Jack and Sadie’s children are attending the San Francisco St Patrick’s parade. Things quickly turn into a nightmare when a riot breaks out and gunmen began shooting. After the dust settles, Gabe soon realizes the intended target was a young woman names Alina. Together with the aid of their friends, they must stop a killer and protected a young woman’s future.

Moyer writes delicious murder mysteries wrapped in paranormal woo-woo. Against a Brightening Sky weaved in elements of the BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION: 1917. Those events tie into an increase in murders involving Russian immigrants in the city and surrounding areas. These directly tie to the princess spirit and Alina. I love when authors weave in historical events and people into their fictional tales. Moyers' paranormal spin had me flipping the pages and increased the suspense through the telling of this story. I am well versed in their history and find this period both dark and fascinating. Darker paranormal entities, possessions and necromancy are all a part of the supernatural presence surrounding the story.

While Gabe is working the case, Delia and Isadora are dealing with the supernatural elements. I absolutely loved the growth in Delia. She may still have more to learn from Isadora, but she has transformed from frightened student to practitioner. We see growth in Dora (Isadora) and even with Gabe. Gabe is really beginning to understand his supernatural intuition and has learned to trust these feelings.

Moyer weaved a tight case giving us plenty of suspects, murders, procedural details and lots of eerie paranormal woo-woo. We learn about the princess ghost and her tie to Alina through Delia’s dreams. It was clever and I craved them almost as much as the rest of the story. A unique and rare entity aided Delia. Descriptions of the creature and its purpose as protector were fascinating. I of course wanted more details. I felt the wrap up of the case was a little rushed, and naturally, I wanted more time with these characters.

Side threads about characters, a budding romance and new characters like Chicago Police officer Jordan Lynch all added depth and familiarity to the story. Honestly I am so sadden this is the last Delia Martin book. I would have been perfectly content to continue solving mysteries and exploring paranormal elements with these characters. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer