The Dark Lord

If you are looking for a book about Tarot Cards, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book with a plot and suspense, this is the book for you. I'm glad I read it over the weekend and I could finish it in two sittings. It was a page-turner. The plot was interesting and the characters did have development. The main character was raped as a child and cannot get over it as an adult. Her poor sister had it even worse and she goes in the other direction. I picked this book up for free and I put it down for a while because the back summary did not make it look good. I was hooked on first chapter. The only flaw was the ex-wife and her threats of exposing Rae and her family's past. If Rae thought about it hard enough, she would realize no newspaper in the world would expose her and her secrets. I hunted used book stores and found number two and I cannot wait to get started.

I just love it when I find a book that I can't put down. With THE DARK LORD, I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed the fast-paced ride to the end. The plot was refreshingly unpredictable. Even the two lead males were difficult to chose between, at least in the beginning. THE DARK LORD kept me in suspense and even gave me chills at times. It was interesting to watch the characters develop past old wounds and misunderstandings to fight both old and new demons. The romance was very satisfying and I look eagerly to the next book in The Forbidden Tarot series.

Dr. Fay "Rae" Lambers and her sister, Angie, come across a mysterious box wile in Egypt. When the foreign writing mentions "The Dark Lord", Rae knows the contents (tarot cards) are bad news. But Angie pulls out the tarot cards anyway. Rae works at the University of Berkeley. Her mentor, Dr. Thomas Gregory, has only recently died. Rae learns that she has inherited half of his estate. Dr. Gregory's son, Michael, inherited the other half. Rae and Michael are by no means strangers. In fact, Rae used to have a crush on Michael back when they were in high school. The attraction is still there. Rae also finds herself strongly attracted to Simeon Avare (they met during Rae's trip). Simeon is in town and wants to view the late doctor's Egyptian items. Things get eerie when Rae gets a video that her mentor made before this death. He charges Rae with the task of guarding his house. For within his home is an object that could possibly cause complete havoc on earth if the wrong person gets hold of it. Unfortunately, a dark and evil spirit has been released from the cards and has taken form of either Michael or Simeon. Rae must figure out which before she loses her heart to the wrong one, and perhaps her life. ***** This story is a "lulu" readers! Even people who do not believe in spirits, curses, and the like will not be able to simply shrug off this super natural romance. Author Patricia Simpson has written a compelling plot filled with danger, the super natural, and romance that readers will find difficult to pull themselves away from. Expect to sit up late into the night reading. ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I didn't think I liked paranormal until I read The Dark Lord. I couldn't put it down. It's intense, fascinating, and has wonderful characters. Now I want to read all of Simpson's books. db

In Luxor, Egypt, the Khamsin (windstorm) forces everyone to seek cover; the visiting twenty something sisters Fay Rae (her mom liked King Kong) and Angie Lambers rush to shelter, only to have the former having lived an entire life with bad luck, trips over a small golden box mostly buried by dirt. She opens the box that looks modern, but finds something wrapped inside that has Aramaic writing on it. A shopkeeper translates mentioning THE DARK LORD, but refuses to read any further out of fear. Rae wants to leave the contents behind having dealt with demons as a teen, but Angie pulls out tarot cards and selects Typhon the Devil. Rae returns to work at the University of Berkley but learns that her mentor Dr. Gregory passed away. Not long afterward, she receives a message from Gregory, demanding she watch over a dangerous object he has in his home. Because of the deathbed request, Rae finds two men associated with the deceased, Gregory's son Michael and Gregory's friend Simeon Avare, interested in her. Other happenings frighten her as she wonders if Angie released an ancient evil when she opened the Tarot cards. THE DARK LORD is a pleasant paranormal romance with the emphasis on the otherworldly elements though the love subplot is a key entity. Rae is the star as she battles malevolence, the attention of two males, and overcoming a life of blue notes yet keeps on trying. The two men suddenly in her life add the paranormal and romance elements in an intriguing triangle that displays why Patricia Simpson is one of the sub-genre's best at keeping the suspense on multiple tracks at high levels. Harriet Klausner