review: rogue oracle by alayna williams

The premise of Rogue Oracle intrigued me: a forensic psychologist uses Tarot cards to help her figure out who the killer is. At the center of the case is the tragedy at Chernobyl, which also sparked my interest. And Rogue Oracle did have my attention for much of the book, but I started to lose interest around the time the Marshals arrived to protect Tara and Cassie. The long-winded descriptions started becoming too much; it’s well-written description, but did all these details really need to be included?

Cassie sat down on the bed and released Oscar from the backpack. The cat shook his fur out in indignation and paced across the bedspread to hop down on the floor. He began to bat at the beaded curtain. Tara began setting up Oscar’s makeshift litter box in the tiny bathroom. The broiler pan fit nicely under the sink, and the cat immediately began scratching in his oatmeal cat litter.

This really has nothing to do with the plot, so I felt that this paragraph along with a number of others could easily be cut resulting in a tightened storyline with an increased sense of urgency. They’re after a killer! The situation should be urgent, but it never seemed like time was of the essence even when Henry was threatening airport officials to try to prevent the suspect from escaping.
2/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Pocket Books.