Charlotte Zang and Alex Knudsen’s THE ORBRIALLIS INSTITUTE: Lost Grove (Part Two) picks up right where Part One left the reader hanging. In both, the focus is firmly planted on the titular research institute. Nationally renowned it may be, but, as indicated in the prior novel and made very clear in this one, the place is decidedly creepy. As with Part One, Zang and Knudsen help readers track the sizeable cast of characters and skillfully integrate exposition into their narrative, sliding it smoothly into action scenes and confrontations while moving the plot forward.
In Part One, readers are treated to a solid mystery-thriller spiced up with witches and a vampire. Here, the authors lean into these elements, along with bodysnatching for good measure. But, once again, at the heart of the novel are its story, its characters, and—well—it’s heart.
In the first book, protagonist Sgt. Seth Wolfe successfully solved a missing person mystery. Multiple plot threads centered on Wolfe, his police colleagues, adults with witchy and vampiric traits, and a tight group of teen friends. Here, the mysteries that leapt from the initial mystery—including the whereabouts of a “green man”—form new plotlines. Also, fortunately, the teenagers take center stage.
Just as real-world kids their age do, they bicker, make up, fret about stupid things, clumsily fall in love. Engaging, maddening, and funny, they also often hold forth insights wise beyond their years. Particularly well painted are the kids’ commentaries on the human condition—our penchant to ostracize, our need to belong, our specific cruelties (teen bullying) and those in general (calling out those who are “different”). “No witch needs permission to be what she is,” one teenager says at one point. In an affecting scene, an adult and a teenager converse hesitantly as they both hide their paranormal skills, picking around the edges—afraid to reveal who they really are.
The action and intrigue build smoothly throughout the book, especially in the 30-plus pages of the heart-thumping climax. The final post-climax pages feel rushed and a little forced, but nevertheless provide a satisfying close to the story.
Sometimes the lighthearted comedy that contributes so much to the novel’s charm gets a bit self-indulgent, as in an overly extended scene involving pizza and an action scene featuring two adults, each sophisticated combatants against violent criminals, comparing one another to movie characters. But overall, THE ORBRIALLIS INSTITUTE: Lost Grove (Part Two) lives up to its promise and is well worth the read. What’s next from this dynamic duo?
THE ORBRIALLIS INSTITUTE: Lost Grove (Part Two) by Alex J. Knudsen and Charlotte Zang offers up a compelling story, engaging and complex characters, and a light touch of paranormal goings on.
~Anne Welsbacher for IndieReader