Stephen Woodworth In Golden Blood

In Golden Blood

Stephen Woodworth

Dell, Nov 2005, $6.99, 303 pp.

ISBN 0440242525

In another age they would have been called witches or people possessed by demons but today through the use of the soul scan there is scientific proof that the souls of the dead inhabit the bodies of those who are alive. These people are called Violets because of the color of their eyes and because there are so few of them. The government of each country puts them under their "protection". Natalie Lindstrom, whose body is inhabited by the souls of those who were murdered, was allowed to testify in court, the spirits accusing their killer and the court accepted the evidence of each soul.

Natalie, tired of death and dealing with killers, leave the North American Afterlife Communication Corps to become a freelancer but the NAACC blackballs her and she is unable to find work. She is so in debt she accepts a job offer by a man pretending to be Dr. Wilcox, an expert on the explorer Pizarro. Nathan Azure, his patron, flees her to the Andes in Peru so she can channel Pizarro and find out where he hid a cache of Inca treasure. While in Peru, Natalie catches on to their scheme and with the help of the spirit of the real Dr. Wilcox, devises a plan to escape and bring the fake Wilcox and Azure down.

This supernatural thriller starts off at mach one and only moves faster giving the audience an exciting read with plenty of action scenes and a heroine one admires (because she quits an organization that wants to control her). Her courage, strength and decency make her an excellent role model that readers will care about. Stephen Woodworth makes the implausible seem very real.

Harriet Klausner