The Heaven's Rise by Christopher Rice

Book: The Heavens Rise
 
Author: Christopher Rice
 
Narrator (if applicable): n/a

Release date (if applicable): Published

Synopsis: From Goodreads.com because this book is too weird to describe in shorter terms and grasp everything:

It’s been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred…and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction…and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre—and very deadly—abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium.

An accomplished surgeon, Niquette’s father dreamed of transforming the dense acreage surrounded by murky waters into a palatial compound befitting the name his beloved wife gave to it, Elysium: “the final resting place for the heroic and virtuous.” Then, ten years ago, construction workers dug into a long-hidden well, one that snaked down into the deep, black waters of the Louisiana swamp and stirred something that had been there for centuries—a microscopic parasite that perverts the mind and corrupts the body.

Niquette is living proof that things done can’t be undone. Nothing will put her family back together again. And nothing can save her. But as Niquette, Ben, and Anthem uncover the truth of a devastating parasite that has the potential to alter the future of humankind, Niquette grasps the most chilling truths of all: someone else has been infected too. And unlike her, this man is not content to live in the shadows. He is intent to use his newfound powers for one reason only: revenge.

 
My rating: 3 stars
 
My opinion: I must admit that I expected more from this book than what I felt was delivered. Although, overall I enjoyed this story, I didn't feel it was as creepy, Gothic or engrossing as what I felt was promised.  Given the setting (NOLA) and storyline, I was eager to read creepy-creepy and felt it wasn't delivered. I thought it was a bit deeper than a "traditional" mystery, but felt that some of the creepiness was actually had a "silly" and cheesy feeling to it. Dare I say a "commercial" feeling to it?

I did not like the ebook version of this book either. I have been considering reading the print version to see if that was better. Ebook version did not lay out well and I needed to "focus on the words" vs. the "feeling" of the story.  If you read it, do yourself a favor and grab a print copy.
 

Source:  Gallery Ebooks

      

Would I recommend? : My jury is still out on this one. I want to read a print copy to determine if it was the copy I read or the book. A number of my Goodreads friends who also read this book gave it 4 star ratings.
 
Stand Alone or Part of a Series: Stand Alone