Natalie Lindstrom is back and finally doing something she wants. Instead of using her abilities to channel murder victims she’s using them to call up the souls of famous painters. It doesn’t take long for Natalie to learn that the past is hard to escape. The government is forever watching, wanting her back and the Violet Killer (from the first book Through Violet Eyes) has been released and is still as obsessed with her as he ever was.

The Violets are rare which is why the government decided to control them in the first place. But there are people who are doing secret research into making someone a Violet who weren’t born that way. All they really manage to do at first is drive the subjects insane, completely open to possession by multitudes of the dead, but their methods are slowly improving. One of these test subjects is a talented artist named Calvin who forges the works of the masters. This man will do anything to be able to channel the great painters himself, subjecting himself to dangerous injections in order to become a Violet. Too bad the formula is still flawed. Calvin seeks Natalie out to help save him when the dead stop knocking and just barge in, without even wiping their feet first.

I’ve really enjoyed this series so far. These books are excellent thrillers made even more interesting by the addition of the dead. One of the best parts of the book comes from Natalie channeling the tortured soul of Edvard Munch. While working together she is able to give him a small measure of peace. It was an incredibly well written and powerful scene.

The only weakness to this book in my opinion is the same thing I mentioned in my other review. The characters strong emotions and feelings came about with very little time or effort. Other than that I have nothing to complain about. Well except for the fact that Natalie’s daughter is a total brat. Possibly there are reasons for this, explained in the second and third books but every time that kid opened her mouth she completely disrespected every adult around her. She did redeem herself somewhat by the end, even making a mature decision about her tumultuous future.

Even though it’s the fourth in the series you can read and enjoy this book without reading the others. You will find some mild spoilers from the first three but not enough to ruin them. I’d recommend reading the first book but it isn’t necessary to enjoy this one. I haven’t had a chance to pick up books two and three yet but I’m confident that I won’t be disappointed.