Lael reviews Imprints by Rachel Ann Nunes

I’ve always loved paranormal books and have even written some myself, so I was excited when Rachel Ann Nunes announced the publication of her new book, Imprints. She very graciously sent me a pdf and I dived in, reading at breakfast, lunch, in bed, and even at church during a High Councilman’s talk (but only a couple of pages).

I was absorbed by the story of Autumn Rain,who has a gift of being able to pick up emotions or imprints from objects she handles. She even sees scenes of events that have taken place around the object. At the beginning of the story she is asked to help locate Victoria, who has gone missing. When she touches a pendant that had belonged toVictoria, she sees the girl talking with a young man who wears a white T shirt with navy blue lettering proclaiming Only Love Can Overcome Hate, which she recognizes as the standard dress of a nearby commune. She now has a clue as to where to begin looking for Victoria.

Then she becomes involved in a second search, this one for Marcie, the widowed and severely depressed sister of Ethan McConnell, a private eye, who has not had any success in finding her. Autumn senses that Marcie, too, might be with the commune. Attracted to Ethan, as he is to her (a sprinkling of romance is good for almost any story), Autumn agrees to search for Marcie as well as Victoria.

Autumn, child of hippie parents Winter and Summer, has other talents, including being an antiques expert (she runs an antique shop to support herself) and having a wide knowledge of herbal remedies. These interests play into the story, as does hunky, dreadlocked Jake, who runs the herbal shop next door. Jake has been a long time friend, and Autumn is disappointed that apparently friendship is as far as he wants their relationship to go. Oh well. There’s always Ethan . . . .

Using her knowledge of herbs as an entree into the commune, Autumn joins the group at the vast farm they run to support themselves. Jake, good friend that he is, insists on accompanying her. But they must not reveal they know each other or someone might suspect their true purpose in being there.
Now questions begin to arise. Is the commune really the congenial group of lettuce growers they purport to be? Are people free to leave at will as Autumn is told they can? Are the dark underground cellars on the farm merely for the storage of the vegetables and fruit, or could there be a more sinister use for them? And how did a dead body come to be in the woods?

Autumn’s quest to find the missing women, aided by her ability to sense imprints on objects, leads her and Jake deeper and deeper into the life and the secrets of the commune until they find they are in real jeopardy. I told her over and over that she was going to get into trouble if she went to that farm, but did she listen? Of course if she hadn’t gone, there wouldn’t be a story. But I worried about her. I won’t tell my worries because you’ll want to build up your own list when you read this unusual and compelling book.