Willet Dura, reeve to the king, is called to the scene of a murder. Something occurs at the scene, something that changes Willet and leaves him with an unexpected gift - or is it a curse? Now Willet can catch glimpses of information upon touching others. Willet is publicly told to stop his investigation while quietly asked to continue, with no guarantees of any backing should his continued involvement become known to the wrong people. Willet's journey to find the killer will lead him into a far deeper conspiracy than he ever expects.

THE SHOCK OF NIGHT is the first book in The Darkwater Saga. However, I highly suggest reading the prequel novella, BY DIVINE RIGHT, first as much of the world building is done in the prequel. Patrick W. Carr plunges readers headlong into his vastly detailed world in THE SHOCK OF NIGHT and it takes a while to acclimate if you haven't read the novella.

I love the concepts of the various gifts (such as the gift of Helps) in THE SHOCK OF NIGHT. The animosity between the have and have nots is taken to a whole new level with Patrick W. Carr's brilliant use of gifts. The mystery underlying Willet's new ability is quite fascinating and I love watching the pieces begin to fit together.

THE SHOCK OF NIGHT is a dark but oh so fascinating fantasy thriller. Patrick W. Carr answers a lot of my questions but leaves me with so many more. I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment in The Darkwater Saga. If you love your fantasy novels filled with mysteries and a touch of the paranormal, then THE SHOCK OF NIGHT is well worth reading.

Book Summary

The Darkwater Claims All Who Enter It.
All But One.

When one man is brutally murdered and the priest he works for mortally wounded, Willet Dura, reeve to the king of Bunard, is called to investigate. As he begins to question the dying priest, the man pulls Willet close and screams in a foreign tongue. Then he dies without another word.

Willet returns to his task, but the clues to the crime lead to contradictions and questions without answers, and his senses are skewed. People he touches appear to have a subtle shift, as though he can divine their deepest thoughts. In a world divided between haves and have-nots, gifted and common, Willet soon learns he's been passed the rarest gift of all--a gift that's not supposed to exist.

Now Willet must pursue the murderer still on the loose in Bunard even as he's pulled into a dangerous conflict that threatens not only his city, but his entire world--a conflict  that will force him to come to terms with his inability to remember how he escaped the Darkwater Forest--and what happened to him inside it.