The Immolation Of Eve by Helen Fields

I purchased this book because I fell in love with Ms Fields' writing from her DI Callanach series and thought I would try some of her earlier works.  Sadly, this is not a taut thriller with believable characters but, rather, a fantasy novel.  I don't read very much fantasy unless it is meant for a YA audience as somehow the worlds created in those are more believable.

Unfortunately that is the case here.  Whilst the premise of a parallel world operating alongside ours and just being a shift of the senses away is an intriguing one, it has been used as a plot device before so not entirely original.  The world and it's peoples are not really introduced to us so much as we have to guess at what they are like from Eve's blinkered view and understanding.  There is an attempt to explain more through Jack, Perun and Ellette but this falls sadly flat.

What saved this book for me was the first half of the book dealing with "real world" Eve and her friendships and burgeoning relationship.  The details of her daily life and work are told clearly and concisely and it gives us a good idea of who she is.  Following her meeting of the mysterious Perun in Krakow she finds out that her life is not what she thought and this leads her to San Francisco to find out about her birth mother.  That's were the writing and the tale go off the rails somewhat.

Having just checked the e-book was published in 2011 so as a first publication it isn't too bad and I think the fact that it is not one of my preferred genres of writing hasn't helped.  However, you can see the beginnings of Ms Fields undoubted talents in the real-world opening to this book and that was thoroughly enjoyable.

**Review originally published December 31st, 2017**