Wicked Dreams

November 21, 2022
In bestsellers Jackson and Bush’s convoluted fifth and final paranormal romantic thriller in their Colony series (after 2014’s Wicked Ways), an unidentified body washes up on a beach across from Oregon’s Echo Island, the home of the mysterious women who inhabit Siren Song Lodge (aka the Colony). With the body is a note reading “next of kin,” along with the cellphone number of private detective Ravinia Rutledge, the youngest daughter of Mary Rutledge, a Colony member who’s said to be a witch “gifted with pheromones.” This gift has allowed Mary to “enslave men,” with the result that she has many children of uncertain paternity, a cause of conflict among the half-siblings. The same morning, another body is found on the beach, and witnesses claim to have seen a young girl running from the scene. A few hours later, a third homicide victim turns up in the same area. What or who connects these deaths? After a slow start, the action picks up and builds to a fiery conclusion. The vast cast and interlocking backstories all but bury the straightforward mystery plot. Though billed as a standalone, this is not the place to start for newcomers. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.