Title: Omens
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Adult, Thriller, Paranormal
Format: Hardcover, 496 pages
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Publisher: Random House Canada

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Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home, and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.


I have always said my favourite author of all time is Kelley Armstrong, only because I have read pretty much everything she has every written, but also because of the stories and characters she writes. She has this was of creating everlasting characters and plots that resonate with a lot of readers. Me included. and I am happy to say that Omens continues the trend of perfection. It was a breath of fresh air for me, not only because it is an adult novel, but also because it was a story that I never expected to read. It was incredibly unique and amazing.

Omens follows Olivia, a privileged 20 something young woman who seems to have everything she could ever want. A fiancee that is good looking ad has money, an all the possibilities in the world. Until one day everything changes. Olivia finds out that she is the daughter of two very notorious serial killers; The Larsons. Now Olivia must face reality and figure out if she believes she was raised by killers or not.

What I love most about Kelley is her ability to hook a reader right from the beginning, and this book is no exception. I was hooked right from the Prologue, and I soon figured out anther of her talents. Melding two genres together. Although most of the novels reads like a mystery novel with Olivia looking into her parents past, it also has a very subtle paranormal element that reveals itself at times throughout the novel. I loved that these paranormal elements were hinted at but never explained, and it made me so intrigued by it that I cannot wait for her next in the series.

Omens is unlike anything I have read. It has everything I love in a novel, strong female who does not need a man to save her, a great mystery that stayed a mystery until the end, and a secret paranormal aspect that remains a mystery. I really cannot say anything bad about this book because I did not find anything that would be considered bad. The characters were strong and fleshed out, they were relate-able as well as mysterious. And the plot itself was amazingly well crafted. Fans of Kelley will love this novel but for those who have never read her before, what are you waiting for? She is a Canadian talent I am so proud to read, and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!