Desert Son

Boston accountant Carter Spence lived an uneventful life, free of deep connections and romantic attachments, and he liked it that way.  That all changes, and Carter’s world turns on its side, when he and his parents are involved in a car accident.  As emergency crews try their best to save them, Carter finds himself floating above the accident site in a true out-of-body experience.  On the far side of a white cloud Carter is reunited with many people from his life who have passed on, and given a message by a mysterious woman he doesn't recognize.  

After the brief encounter Carter questions his entire life and the truth of his identity.  He regains consciousness at the side of the highway and learns that parents have been killed, and the decision to pursue the interrupted conversation has him embarking on a journey of self-discovery leading to Boulder, Colorado and finally feeling alive.

This novel had an extremely slow start. The multiple flashbacks quickly become a distraction making it necessary to reread many of the pages. Carter’s inability to feel anything for the Spences after the discovery of the truth about his lineage was insensitive, perhaps ungrateful. As the main character he was hard to root for. Overall, while time-travel/reincarnation type pieces may not be a reader’s genre of choice, the author’s word choice and breadth of description made the story enjoyable enough that, with a little work, it could win over even the harshest critic. 

Amy Willis