David Skibbins Reviews

Added May 14, 2007

Eight of Swords

The Tarot Card Mysteries

Author: David Skibbins
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: April 2006
Genre: Mystery
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Price: $6.99
ISBN-10: 0312352255
ISBN-13: 9780312352257
Author Email/Website: www.davidskibbins.com
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Rating: 8 Gargoyles

Eight of Swords unsheathes a double-edged mystery. When a teenage client of a tarot reader goes missing, no one can predict what the investigation will turn up. The author smoothly splices together the physical drama of the police investigation with a subtler psychological element, creating a compelling story line with surprising conclusions.

Warren Ritter isn't Warren Ritter. His real identity is carefully concealed among a few other aliases, as he tries to block out a past that's so dark he doesn't ever want to look back. To make a living, he sets up a folding table on a San Francisco street and charges for tarot readings that he doesn't even believe. Yet, when the Death card visits teenager Heather Wellington and she's later kidnapped, Warren decides to give the Fates a good fight even if he risks his own future.

Expertly written, these pages are emotionally charged with all the components of a great mystery. As Warren follows the clues, while staying one step ahead of the police, readers gain respect and sympathy for this character. His cryptic past has crippled him, leaving no room for any real relationships, which is why his desperate search for this young woman is so poignant and powerful. The action steadily accelerates, and when the center of truth is found, Warren uncovers more than the bad guys. In a clever twist, the novel turns inward, revealing a level of hope in his heart and offering a hint of his future. Although the physical mystery is resolved, a psychological one remains, causing the last page to be more of a pause than a period.

The setting is gritty, the dialogue is appropriate and the characters are realistic. The future of author David Skibbins looks promising!

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