Review – Awakening

From the back cover:  Kallie Andreas is a mystery, even to herself.

Seven years ago Kallie woke up in a New York City museum, injured and traumatized. Alone and unclaimed.

Despite her shattered memories, she’s worked her way into a position as assistant curator in that very museum, and now she wants nothing more than to pursue funding for her project–assembling pieces from the ancient Minoans.

But then the blackouts start. Lost time, stranded in terrifying danger, frantic visions that can’t be real. A threatening phone call may be nothing more than paranoia and madness. Or perhaps not.

It’s time to start seeing her psychiatrist more often.

Kallie’s doctor challenges her to keep a journal, but her writing morphs into something else… What begins as a romantic fairy tale becomes an allegory of a woman plunged into crisis in the ancient past, in the misty islands of Minoan Greece, home to myth and legend.

When a mysterious billionaire invites Kallie to scour the black market with him for the most valuable of all Minoan treasures, the key to their lost language, Kallie can’t resist. Dimitri is wealthy, charming and good-looking, but she’s not interested–not in someone who’s clearly hiding secrets of his own.

Together, the two embark on a global quest to find the Key, through some of the most exotic and beautiful locations in the world–unraveling the mystery and pursuing leads, all the while resisting romance in Italy, under the Santorini sun, and among the pyramids of Egypt.

Meanwhile, Kallie’s memories are bleeding through and her journal has turned violent. She’s teetering on the verge of a breakthrough, but what devastating truth has she been suppressing?

When a strange woman who clearly knows Kallie’s real identity tries to murder her, it’s clear that Kallie’s past and present worlds are colliding, in a deadly crisis that will finally reveal the shocking mystery of her past.

But will the truth leave room for love?

It is a shame that the great director Alfred Hitchcock died. He would be the perfect person to direct this movie. But then you would need Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman to play the major roles because these are tremendous characters. Kallie only has memories from seven years ago. That leaves her wide open for danger and it comes calling. So does adventure. Dimitri is wealthy and an explorer that seems to know more about Kallie than he lets on. Now they are traveling the world looking for a Key artifact and answers. Tracy Higley has truly given us a winner with “Awakening”.  Get ready there are politics, escapes, liaisons, schemes and conniving that will make your head spin.  And the characters.  Ms. Higley has given us great characters who live and breathe on the pages and draw us into their lives so that we root for the good guys and do not want the bad guys to win.  “Awakening” is great fun.  It is history, a thriller, adventure and a romance all rolled up in an extremely entertaining ball.