Review: Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: August 20, 2013
Publisher: Random House Canada
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 486
Genre: YA Contemporary
Series: Cainsville #1

Source: Publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong begins her new series with Omens, featuring a compelling new heroine thrust into a decades-old murder case and the dark mysteries surrounding her strange new home. 

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her. 

My Thoughts:

Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author and I have loved her books since I first read Bitten, so I will try not to be biased. But let’s face it Kelley Armstrong is a very talented writer.

I was a bit disappointed by Kelley’s decision to end the Otherworld series, but Omens is an amazing start to something new. Cainsville looks like a quiet town, a perfect place to start a new life. But is it the right place for Olivia, who just found out she was adopted and that her biological parents are convicted serial killers. And the media is hunting her.

I loved the plot line to Omens. Full of twists, it moves along at a great pace, keeping your interest and drawing you in. While Olivia investigates the murders her parents are accused of, there are many interesting, and well defined characters that she meets along the way. While I can not guess as to her parent’s guilt or innocence, I enjoyed Omens very much.

Our protagonist, Olivia Taylor-Jones, or Eden Larsen, is a strong, kind lady, who sometimes lacks self-confidence in her decisions. I really identified with her; she is such a likable character and I look forward to following her journey.

Gabrielle was a pretty cool cat. With his own heart-rending back-story, it’s so hard to see him as the big tough guy who only looks out for himself. I can see him and Olivia getting closer and can’t help but wonder where Kelley is taking that.

While I anxiously await the next chapter in Olivia’s story, I definitely recommend it to paranormal, mystery, and romance fans.