Sheep Book Review: A Human Element by Donna Galanti

A Human Element, by Donna Galanti, is a paranormal suspense with a nice serving of romance. As my feathered pigeon friends from Bolt would say…wait for it…"Aliens". Yes indeed there are aliens in this story but that’s just the tip of an emotional iceberg Donna taps right into!

Plot:

One by one, Laura Armstrong's friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her special healing powers, there is nothing she can do to stop it. The killer haunts her dreams and leaves cryptic notes advising her to use her powers to save herself because she's next.

Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to her hometown and the site of a crashed meteorite. There she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents' death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening mystery that binds them together.

But the killer's desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts her relationship with Ben in jeopardy and her pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to the stranger and she has two choices - redeem him or kill him.

Our story starts out in the 70’s with one of the main characters, Ben as a young boy, vacationing with his family at a beautiful lake. Soon in the first few pages a meteorite crashes into Earth, killing many people including Ben's Mother and Father. Now thrust into foster care and a life of roaming from family to family, young Ben becomes jaded and closed off emotionally. He begins going down a dangerous path of self destruction and it’s hard not to pull for this guy as you pick up early in his young life and carry with him through adulthood.

Laura was born into a far different setting but was also around the events of the meteorite crash. Never knowing her birth mother, but lucky enough to grow up with love and support, the reader grows with Laura as she develops some pretty amazing abilities. One of my only pet peeves with Laura’s character was he weepy nature, she’s a very emotional gal which I understand was planned but sometimes she just burst into tears without much prodding and that started to grate my nerves.

Some interesting side characters add to the overall suspense of the story, and a deep throat sort of man lurking about keeps you guessing what side he really plays for. Ben’s good friend Andy was an immensely entertaining dude who at times was more engaging then our main couple. But as the romance picks up and bonds are formed A Human Element brings everything it has into one massive emotional punch.

Twisted family and government cover-ups lead to vendettas that last a lifetime, change and growth as a person and righting the paths once taken in vain all come around to grab you as the climactic ending brings everything full circle. While a few inconsistencies in the story left me asking more questions about the alien race from galaxies away, the underlying message of the story is heard loud and clear without shoving it down the readers throat and forcing them to comply!

Absolutely no grammar errors were noticed which proves that good editing is out there! If you like a suspenseful story with paranormal and scifi fantasy then I’d suggest you give this one a read.

Getting 3 and ½ swinging in the trees Sheep

KD