Title: Instrument of Justice
Author: C.B. Anslie
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing
ISBN: 978-1643613307
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 116
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown Gilbert
Pacific Book Review
C.B. Anslie’s intriguing novella Instrument of Justice brings psychic abilities into the realm of the expected with this work of paranormal fiction, which focuses on the lives and loves of several gifted characters while enticing the imagination and stirring the emotions of all readers.
The opening story introduces psychic protagonist Sevan, and his intensely powerful telepathic, abilities, however he also has a terrifyingly savage dark side. Sevan shares his life with Mayson, who also has powerful psychic abilities; she is an Empath. The two share a strong bond as a loving, married, couple and work as massage therapists. They are expecting their first child, however plagued by nightmares, Sevan believes his dark ability can serve no good purpose, which keeps him fearful that his dangerous ability may pass on to his child.
Events take a turn for the thrilling at the Healing Hands Body Spa, when the couple becomes entwined with traumatized clients who desperately need help, especially from the psychically powerful Sevan, whose eventually comes to find out that his existence bears more importance than he realized. Additionally, an interesting characterization within this story is the persona of The Confessor, a seeming rogue priest with a taste for Smirnoff and a paranormal secret of his own.
The ensuing second story concerns couple Sig and Sky, and their burgeoning love relationship told from their separate perspectives. Sig works as a pilot and has no particular psychic ability. On the other hand, Sky, who works as a nurse, does have clairvoyant abilities and comes from a long line of healers. As a result of Sky’s clairvoyant ability and empathetic nature, she has visions which she willingly shares with those concerned, however, a misunderstood vision leads to dire circumstances. Naturally, her mistake causes skepticism in her predictive visions, especially when it comes to a disastrous one involving Sig.
All considered, Instrument of Justice, turned out to be a fascinating read which easily engaged my attention. I especially enjoyed the way author C.B. Anslie artfully blended the characters, paranormal elements, and romance into fascinating stories. Also intriguing was the juxtaposing of the openly receptive relationship of Sevan and Mayson vs the hesitance of Sig and Sky’s. Albeit, my only concern lies with the way the first story ending is placed after the second story, it seemed out of place within the read. Otherwise, this was a good read and I do recommend it to paranormal fiction fans.
