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Fiction General

Rituals

The Cainsville Series

by (author) Kelley Armstrong

Publisher
Random House of Canada
Initial publish date
Aug 2018
Category
General, Supernatural, Suspense
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780345815231
    Publish Date
    Aug 2017
    List Price
    $32
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780345815248
    Publish Date
    Aug 2018
    List Price
    $21.00

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Description

In this gripping thriller, international bestselling author Kelley Armstrong brings the Cainsville series to a powerful, richly rewarding climax.

What began as the search for truth has becomes a deadly game of wills and survival.

When Olivia Taylor-Jones found out she was not actually the adopted child of a privileged Chicago family but the daughter of a notorious pair of convicted serial killers, her life exploded. Running from the fall-out, she found a refuge in the secluded but oddly welcoming town of Cainsville, Illinois, but she couldn't resist trying to dig out the truth about her birth parents' crimes. She began working with Gabriel Walsh, a fiendishly successful criminal lawyer who also had links to the town; their investigation soon revealed Celtic mysteries at work in Cainsville, and also entangled Olivia in a tense love triangle with the calculating Gabriel and her charming biker boyfriend, Ricky. Worse, troubling visions revealed to Olivia that the three of them were reenacting an ancient drama pitting the elders of Cainsville against the mysterious Huntsmen with Olivia as the prize.
Now, in the series finale, forces continue to work within Cainsville as the elders and the Huntsmen each try to persuade Olivia to their side. Worse still, Liv's feelings for Ricky and Gabriel remain a tangled mess, not helped by visions that in this triangle, everything hinges on her choice. But time is up, and Olivia has not chosen. Things come to a head as Seanna, Gabriel's drug addict mother who he thought was dead, makes a surprise reappearance, alongside the revelation of a third supernatural force--a dark and malevolent entity that has had its eye on Olivia since she was a baby and wants to win at any cost.
In the series' fifth and final novel, Kelley Armstrong delivers a final scary and surprising knock-out twist.

About the author

When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and continues with Empire of Night.

Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many pets.

Kelley Armstrong's profile page

Editorial Reviews

“Just like Armstrong’s Otherworld series, Cainsville comes to a tense, satisfying head in Rituals.” —Inverse

Praise for Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville series:

“Kelley Armstrong sure knows how to spin a yarn. . . . Betrayals, Armstrong’s best book yet, is the fourth novel set in the otherworldly town of Cainsville. . . . Along with the supernatural, Armstrong knows her ratiocination.” —The Globe and Mail

“Armstrong’s name is synonymous with great storytelling, and this Cainsville series is definitely being set up to deliver a heck of a surprise when it all comes to an end.” —Suspense Magazine

“Impossible-to-put-down. . . . Bring on the next Cainsville volume, please.” —Sarah Weinman

“[Kelley Armstrong's] dispatches from this village filled with sinister secrets are going to be keeping her readers up well into the night.” —Linwood Barclay

“Kelley Armstrong has paranormal elements in her classic mysteries but there are no ghouls, ghosts, werewolves or fairies and that’s why readers who loathe crossovers will love this series. [S]mart, cleverly plotted and really well written and you don’t have to ignore the vampires to get to the good stuff.” —The Globe and Mail
“Sometimes big, bad things really do come in small packages and no one is more adept at unwrapping them than [Armstrong].” —Providence Journal

“I am not a fan of mysteries that cross over into other genres, and I don’t like books that begin with infant narrators. So when I tell you that, despite that, Omens kept me reading on, you can bet it’s a good book. . . . A clever whodunit with some very nice twists and the fantasy actually works.” —Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail

“Armstrong creates heroines who are smart and strong, but with real weaknesses and vulnerabilities. They may be wrapped up in the supernatural, but they are realistic and relatable.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“One of the best new series debuts this year! With its compelling characters and completely original set-up, Omens delivers a powerful combination of suspenseful thrills and supernatural chills. I can’t wait to read more!” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Touch & Go

“Like the creepy, spooky town of Cainsville, Kelley Armstrong’s Omens lured me in. I was busy, way too busy for this book, which, through a series of surprises and sleights of hand, had me conspiring for ways to get back to the gripping story, the colorfully bizarre cast of characters, and the clever, strong, smart heroine at its center. Don’t pick this book up if you have anything else to do. It will grab you by the collar and won’t let you up for air until it’s good and ready. And once you’re done, you won’t soon forget it.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of In the Blood

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