Kiss-Review

Title: Kiss
Author: Ted Dekker and Erin Healy
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 336
ISBN: 159554819X

From Amazon:

Master of evangelical Christian suspense, Dekker (Thr3e; Blink; Skin) joins first-time author Healy in this thriller, no less fast-moving than the Christy Award–winning author's solo prose, but also more gripping as it plunges into the life of a woman with frayed and painful family relationships. When a tragic auto accident leaves Shauna McAllister's brother brain-damaged and erases her recent memories, she discovers she has a paranormal ability to steal memories from others, a capability that will either get her killed or unveil hidden sides of the very people she thought she could trust. Against this background, she attempts to uncover the ugly truth about her father's dark secrets and to upend his run for president of the United States. True to Dekker's penchant for twists that keep you guessing till the very last page, Kiss also attempts to return to snappier dialogue and more logical plotting than Skin. A psychological suspense thriller that shines light into black-market child trafficking, Dekker's latest will satisfy Christian fiction lovers who want complex characters and who believe in the stark realities of true good and heinous evil.


Shauna McAllister's life becomes a complicated web of truths and lies from the moment she awakens from a coma due to a terrible accident. Her pre-coma memories are absent but she has gained the ability to retrieve information from the memories of others. A particular gift that will aid her in finding the truth behind her families web of lies, but a deadly ability to those whose secrets must be kept. To find the truth Shauna must trust, but trust is a dangerously valuable thing when it seems that those around her are not trustworthy.

Kiss was the product Dekker and Healy's collaboration and what a result! The pair weave an exciting journey through the paranormal all the while keeping the reader on the edge to determine who is lying, who is telling the truth, and who is the deceiver with the darkest secrets. The story was extremely well-written, keeping an energized pace while adequately developing the characters. Emotions are tried and reconciliation and love are put to the ultimate test inside the pages of Kiss. Many of the reviews I have read label this book as a romance as well as Christian fiction. The majority of the book felt like a thriller with a touch of romance. The romance did not overwhelm the story in the least nor did this book feel definitively like a Christian fiction book. This book could most certainly be categorized under numerous genres: paranormal, psychological thriller, suspense. The story grabbed my attention and had me until the ride was over.


My rating: 4 lattes because the story had an originality that Dekker and Healy exemplified into a masterful thrilling read. I found myself deep within the story trying to distinguish who was lying and who was being truthful. Excellent read!