The Clarity

December 18, 2017
Thomas’s strong debut, a paranormal thriller, stars Ashanique Walters, an 11-year-old girl with an unusual ability. Ashanique, who lives in a Chicago housing development with her mother, Janice, can recall the memories of other people, including those of the last soldier killed during WWI. These memories have put Ashanique and Janice in danger, forcing them to be prepared to run at a minute’s notice. The danger is heightened following a visit from Matilda Deacon, a psychologist and social worker specializing in researching how memories are stored. Though skeptical at first, Matilda believes that Ashanique may indeed harbor others’ memories, especially when the child references memories of the Night Doctors, a murderous group mentioned by another patient of hers before he committed suicide. The stakes rise when Rade, a merciless assassin who knows that the recovered memories may contain secrets that could recast history, starts to pursue mother and daughter. Thomas maintains the believability of his tightly coiled plot throughout. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, DeFiore & Co.

Narrator Robin Eller gives listeners the shivers as she delivers a cat-and-mouse chase. Psychologist Matilda Deacon, who researches how memories are created and stored, must protect a strange 11-year-old girl named Ashanique from a ruthless killer after a failed government program, The Clarity, is canceled. Eller handles the adults with aplomb and excels when portraying Ashanique. She uses her voice to affect a tone of fear and wonderment at the child's access to the memories of dozens of past lives. As the assassin Rade closes in on his prey, Eller quickens the pace. Listeners will be sitting on the edge of their seats as the surprising climax unfolds. R.O. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine