Who's Your Author? discussion

Overview*
#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.

*from Barnes and Noble

I have been seeing some very mixed reviews on this one. I still plan to read it anyone else read it?

I've read it and enjoyed it. I think the paranormal part is done more subtly than the Women of the Otherworld series so it's not what most of her fans were expecting. I liked what she's setting up. It's still Kelley's great writing. Just a different style. But that's just me.

I have it & plan to start it next week. I haven't read WOTU so I have no expectations going in.

Armstrong is one of my favorite authors so I was excited to read this new series. I was intrigued by the blurb about the book, figured there was lots to go with with the omens.

I did find it a little hard to believe that Olivia's adoptive parents didn't know where she came from. With the amount of money they had there was no way that they wouldn't have investigated that to find out. I can see the mother not knowing, but the dad wouldn't have let that fact to chance. I found myself hating the mother and her reaction. If there was ever a reason that a child needed her mother this would be one, instead she was wallowing in how things would look to her friends. I was glad that the father made his will the way he did because otherwise the mother would have cut ties all ties very fast.

I sort of liked James at the start, even if he didn't seem to get Olivia. I really hated him with his reaction to Olivia's surprise. She needed support, not backing away, like everyone else did to her. I applauded Olivia's reaction, her ripping him a new one, and especially her throwing back his ring, she can do better.

With her world in upset, I liked the next steps that Olivia took. She needed time to come to terms with things, time that she could figure out if she was Olivia or Eden, or a combination of both. I liked that her path took her to Cainsville. The town became a character of itself, one I wanted to know more about. However with each small nugget of info we got, we got tons of questions. There is so much I want to know, what is going on with the ravens, the cat, the gargoyles, the elders, and what the heck is up with Patrick. Everyone in town seems to be in the know with the exception of Olivia and Gabriel.

Ahhh, Gabriel, I am not sure what to think of him. Most of me hates how sleazy and slimy he is, but there were times he was actually nice. One thing I do know is that I don't want them to be a couple, I much prefer the antagonistic relationship they have now. I liked seeing them working together to figure out things.

I kept figuring the town would come into play until the CIA was brought in. At this point I was like WTF! The CIA, that came out of right field and the book went off the rails for me. I felt like the CIA was a cop-out and didn't really match what else was going on.

Even not caring for how things turned out in this book, I will read the next book, mostly because I am intrigued with the town. I want more answers there, instead of all the questions we have been getting.

Thoughts on Prologue - "A Product of Monsters"

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

I'm sure to a 2 year old the cops did appear to be monsters.

First omen mentioned: the hooting of an owl.

"The point is, she was not easily wooed. I've launched hostile takeovers that were easier."

2nd omen - "Are you okay with going out the back? It's not the door you came in."

3rd omen - "And the time in Cozumel, when you insisted on turning our pillows around so we wouldn't have nightmares?"

I know I have a book of superstitions around here somewhere and this story makes me want to dig through it.

Olivia/Eden's identity has been released to the public and the press has gone crazy. I'm not sure how Olivia's adopted parents were unaware of her identity. She was almost three at the time of the adoption. The old man - crazed with grief or is there another reason he thinks Olivia is Pamela. Are Olivia's biological parents actually serial killers? They didn't seem scary in the prologue.

I ran across this post today by Kelley explaining Omen's genre.

http://blog.bookcountry.com/kelley-ar...

Thanks for sharing Karena, it was very interesting.

I put request in to my library for this one last week and it just came in. Didn't this one score well with reviewers?

Lisarenee wrote: "I put request in to my library for this one last week and it just came in. Didn't this one score well with reviewers?"

I thought this one was like a lot of new series, a little slow to start, but great potential.

My sister really enjoyed it. We have similar reading tastes so I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it.

Thoughts on Chapters 7 - 15

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

More omens:

"If a bird flies straight at you, prepare for a bad day."

"See a penny and pick it up, and all day you'll have good luck. See a penny, let it lay. And bad luck you'll have all day."

"If you wish to live and thrive, let the spider stay alive."

"A bird flew past. A big, black one I hadn't seen before. A raven."

I felt for Olivia in these chapters. The two people she counts on most for support are complete idiots.

"Well, of course, your mother is fine. She's locked in a maximum security prison." - Cruel & snarky but it made me laugh.

"I picked up the penny. When I did, the world snapped back into focus, like a window being thrown open." - This I found intriguing - Olivia seemed to be frozen until she recognized the omen and picked up the penny.

"As I did, I caught a glimpse of something on the cement landing. Not another penny, but a design of some sort, glittering just as brightly." - I wonder what the significance of the pattern is - she recalls a similar patter when she has a dream of her early childhood.

She's obviously being herded to Cainsville. The psycho fan is a type of supernatural. I'm leaning towards fae based on the healing ability, the illusions, and the use of the word "piskie".

"A town filled with gargoyles. Must be well protected." - What are the odds that the gargoyles aren't fully functional?

Thoughts on Chapters 16 - 29

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

More omens:

"Black cat, black cat, bring me some luck."

"Crow, crow, get out of my sight or else I'll eat thy liver and lights."

"Stir with a knife, stir up strife."

"Monday's child is fair of face..."

Gargoyles are mentioned as protection against evil beings and poppies are mentioned as a death omen.

Presumably Welsh words that were mentioned:

bran - raven

bocan - I googled and only received results for whiskey and the engineering of plastic buckets

"ewch I ffwrdd, bran" - "go away, raven"

"boinne-fala" - no translation found

These chapters focus on Olivia getting a job, meeting her biological mother, and researching her parents' past.

We learn that Pamela Bowen and Todd Larsen were born on the same day, in the same hospital, and delivered by the same obstetrician.

It's later mentioned that "It was difficult for some, having a Bowen in town again. It had been so many years, and things had gone so badly last time...Born outside Cainsville, her mother had been lost from the start. Usually the children did not stray far enough to warrant attention. Pamela Bowen however...They had all underestimated the danger. The chance she'd get to know Todd Larsen. That would not happen again."

Why was it dangerous that Pamela and Todd met? What is so unusual about Bowen children?

"There were five elements of the murders identified as ritualistic. An unknown symbol carved into each thigh. Another symbol painted on the stomach with woad, a plant-based dye. A twig of mistletoe piercing the symbol on the women's stomachs. A stone in the mouths. And a section of skin removed from each back."

Is there a significance to the ritual of did the murderers only make it appear to be an occult crime?

A lot of the citizens of Cainsville seem to have occult abilities. Patrick is possibly a fae, Rose has the sight, and Ida and Walter may have abilities too.

Thoughts on Chapters 30 - 38

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

I'm really enjoying Gabriel's character. I'm hoping he replaces James as the love interest. I wonder if there is a reason his eyes are such an unusual color.

Olivia thinks there must have been a traumatic experience in her early childhood that caused her fear of hospitals. Is it possible that instead of a trauma it was her ability to see omens - specifically death omens - that caused the fear?

More omens: "Bringing hawthorn into the house in May is bad luck." and "I also keep a sprig in the rafters to ward off bogarts."

More types of fae are mentioned: bogarts, brownies, and bogan, hobgoblins, bocan, goblins, trolls.

A bocan is a type of goblin.

"The powerto innately detect and decipher omens was a strange skill, one that most psychics would deny even existed." - I like this version of the psychic/clairvoyant ability - it's more mysterious and more difficult to interpret.

James is still a twit.

"Also, the killing of small animals is the entrance ramp onto the serial killer superhighway. Damn. I bet the cat knows that. He picked me because I can't hurt him, or I'd be fulfilling my biological destiny. So I'm screwed. The cat stays. Unless you'll kill him...How does fifty bucks sound?" - This is my favorite quote of the book so far.

Thoughts on Chapters 39 - 52

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

"I'd seriously contemplated a real collar - a sparkly green one - if only because I was sure it would offend his dignity." - You have to take your victories where you can when it comes to cats.

Another omen: "Upside-down shoes were bad luck..."

We have confirmation of the fae: "They helped when they could, like the brunaidh who gave Grace's address to Olivia or the spriggan who scared her out of Chicago. Both had been quick to contact the elders, like eager puppies expecting a scratch behind the ears. They might not live here, but they knew it wise to ingratiate themselves with the residents of Cainsville." Patrick also refers to himself as a "boinne-fala".

"He had a soft spot for Gabriel, though, more than he usually did for his epil." - Google continues to fail me - I looked up epil and the only results were for epilators and the European Project for Interreligious Learning.

Olivia runs the ritualistic aspects of the murders by Partrick and receives the following responses: mistletoe = druids; the symbol on the women's stomachs is a Pictish v-rod (looks like a sideways crescent moon overlapped with a V - it's a symbol of death), but the symbol on the thigh and the stone in the mouth remains a mystery.

"Within the oldest families - the Walshes, the Bowens, and a few others - the old blood was strong enough to produce true powers, as with Rose Walsh and, it seemed, the Larsen girl. Yet it also had the adverse effect of bringing these gifted individuals to the attention of...others." - Veronica then indicates that the ravens are the outsiders/servants of the outsiders.

"She's useful to me, I'm useful to her. As long as that continues, Rowan Street is safe from an old-lady smackdown of epic proportions." - Another favorite quote.

"Demon possession strains the boundaries of credulity, given the sheer number of times it seems to happen. One would really hope demons had better things to do with their time." - Another good quote - it reminds me of Lucifer from the Sandman comic - he complained that he was tired of being blamed for everything as if he had nothing better to do all day than whisper in a person's ear to do bad things.

The powder/pattern Olivia's been finding near her place is a ward against her - a "magical get lost" - "monkshood to warn you that danger is near. Yellow carnation for rejection. Rhododendron telling you to beware."

Another omen: "One for bad news, two for mirth. Three is a wedding, four is a birth. Five is for riches, six is a thief. Seven, a journey, eight is for grief." - It refers to crows.

"The game's afoot." - Gabriel is a Sherlock Holmes fan.

Someone is murdering any potential witnesses to the murders - more specifically anyone who could shed light on other suspects/motivations. I thinks it's a safe bet that the Larsens didn't commit the murders but why is someone desperate to keep them in prison?

I'm really hoping the introduction of Ricky isn't going to lead to the dreaded urban fantasy triangle. I don't mind the occasional triangle but it's almost a cliché at this point. Ricky seems nice but I'm rooting for Gabriel!

Thoughts on Chapters 53 - End

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

We have one final omen: "Rain on a sunny day. That's good luck." and another reference to the fae: "The sight is one of the manifestations of the old blood. Bendith y Mamau." Patrick explains that "Bendith y Mamau" is Welsh for "the mother's blessing" and a lesser known name for the fae.

We also get confirmation that the elders are fae: "It was presumed among the Tylwyth Teg of Cainsville that the Larsens were in fact guilty, that the ritualistic aspects of the crimes proved they were responsible even if no one knew what the ritual was supposed to accomplish."

Patrick discovers one more link to the druids in the murder scenes: "Adder stones...They often had a glassy center, usually flint. Ancient Celts believed that the center was the hardened spittle of snakes - or even dragons. Adder stones were particularly prize by the Druids. They were known as Gloine nan Druidh, or Druid's Glass, in Scottish Gaelic, and were said to aid in spirit travel."

"James Morgan is an idiot." - Gabriel speaks the truth. I wonder if James has a hidden agenda in trying to woo Olivia back to his side?

The plot took quite a few twists in the last part of the book. The Larsen's were cleared of two of the eight murders. I wasn't expecting the CIA's involvement.

Evans warned that "The hounds will come to Cainsville and when they do, you'll wish you made a very different choice today." He also mentioned the Huntsmen. It may be a covert government group but I'm leaning towards it being a fae/group of fae. The Wild Hunt, black dogs, the Erlking, Cernunnos, and Herne the Hunter are all fae/folklore beings that could fit the description. Those are off the top of my head, I'm sure there are more.

I really enjoyed Omens. It was a slow build but left me with plenty of anticipation for the next book.

Just reading this. Decided to look up Bowen, Pamela's surname... Half Welsh, half Irish, apparently. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowen_(s...

Interesting.

I still need to read this. I bought the book when it came out.

Hi! Just found this group and this thread and wanted to add my 2 cents. @Sara: the Welsh word 'epil' actually means offspring, or progeny. Wouldn't it be amazing if Patrick turned out to be Gabriel's father (or grandfather, or gr-grandfather, etc.)? Really looking forward to Visions in August.

Thank you! I tried googling it couldn't find an answer. Much appreciated. Patrick as Gabriel's father/grandfather would be very interesting!

Only recently acquired this one although Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors. Odd start to this book but once in Cainsville I really enjoyed the rest of the book. Looking forward to Visions.


BOINNE, s. f. A drop of any liquid;
boinne fala, a drop of blood ; boinne-taig,
a rain-drop.