Back Cover Blurb: The footprints were etched in the snow for miles, passing through walls and crossing rivers…appearing on the other side as though no barrier could stop them. In 1922 a farmer in Adamant, Arkansas, awakes to a noise on his roof and finds his snow-blanketed yard marked with thousands of cloven footprints. The prints vanish with the melting snow…only to reappear seventy years later near the gruesome killing of Rachel DeLaune.
Years after her sister's unsolved murder, New Orleans tattoo artist Sarah DeLaune is haunted by the mysteries of her past. Sarah has always believed that her sister was killed by a man named Ashe Cain. But no one else had ever seen Ashe. He had "appeared" to Sarah when she needed a friend the most, only to vanish on the night of her sister's murder. The past bleeds into the present when two mutilated bodies are found near Sarah's home, the crime scene desecrated by cloven footprints.
I enjoyed Ms. Steven's previous book, The Dollmaker enough that when I saw that she had a new title out I decided to give it a peek. The blurb alone was enough to make me buy it. I was intrigued by the cloven footprints. Not that I'm into the devil--just the opposite, in fact. He and I are mortal enemies. lol But, it was creepy enough to catch my attention.
While it wasn't quite what I expected, I enjoyed it just the same. The main character, Sarah, was an intriguing character and her complex relationships with everyone in her life were interesting. Perhaps the most interesting, though, was figuring out just exactly who Ashe Cain was and how he played into her sister's murder. It was a shocker for me, at least. A little out of nowhere. Not hints. No clues. Just "Smack" and there it was. I think I actually shouted, "Holy Crap!" when it finally revealed who the murderer was. I may be a little slow, too, though. LOL
There were quite a few POV's that I wanted to explore more--other intriguing characters. But I was satisfied with the book and how it all played out. It's a keeper, for me at least.
