Nightingale
David Farland
East India Press, Mar 27 2012, $25.99
ISBN: 9781614757870

In North Carolina, Sommer Bastion flees from the safe house with dogs in pursuit. Adel Todestall, head of security for Lucius Chenzhenko catches her. He accuses her of theft of the child she carried in her womb for eleven months; as part of her years as Lucius incarcerated guest. She has no idea of whom he is talking about, but her gut says find the child to save herself and her sisters.

Over the next few years in Alpine, Utah Bron Jones lives with brutal Melvina Stillman who sees him as a commodity to get a check from the state and as labor. His foster mother accuses Bron of stealing nine peaches and the sucking out the joy of her home. His caseworker James Bell immediately places Bron in the home in Tuachan of teacher Olivia Hernandez and her husband. She is the polar opposite of the abusive Melvina as she treats Bron kindly while he waits for her “true colors” to surface. Instead, Olivia knows wants to adopt Bron though she knows he is a Nightingale, which places her in danger. Her premonition soon proves accurate as danger comes calling.

Readers will be hooked with the twin mysteries of Sommer and Bron as David Farland provides a suspense twisting young adult fantasy. Fast-paced with a strong support cast and a powerful lead with a bulls-eye on his chest, fans appreciate Bron’s opening act while anxiously awaiting the second tale as this one ends in a stunning cliffhanger.

Harriet Klausner