Joe Mac was a legendary homicide detective of his time until he lost his vision in the line of duty and was forced into retirement. Now he lives a lonely life with only a raven as his companion. But when Joe Mac's grandson is murdered by a serial killer, things change forever. The serial killer has claimed 24 victims so far and leaves no clue or clear pattern. Joe is now forced to emerge from his retirement to hunt down the killer. With a younger cop to help him and with the Raven as his companion, will Joe Mac able to overcome all the odds and hunt down those who mercilessly killed his young grandson... even if it costs him his life?

The closest way to describe this book is The Da Vinci Code meets the Bone Collector (remember the Denzel Washington movie). As a concept, Dark Visions is brilliant. Not only it involves hunting of a serial killer but also discovering clues from myths & historical legends to uncover the entire plot. As Joe Mac and his partner Jodi begin to investigate the crime, they realise that these killings may have a even sinister motive than earlier imagined, with it’s roots in history and mythology. Joe Mac is blind and retired but hasn't lost his abilities (with other senses enhanced) and Jodi, a rookie detective, is inexperienced but competent. With the mysterious Raven (named Poe), this makes a great mystery solving team.

The first half of the book is thrilling. The discovery of clues are perfectly balanced with the many action scenes. The innovative ideas, the excellent characters and the fast paced story makes it a real page turner. The story slows down a notch in the second half. Most of the later half is about planning for the final showdown and there are long conversations and many more fighting sequences (a few of those could have been trimmed down without affecting the storyline in a big way). The conversations often felt repetitive without taking the story forward. Then there are some parts which feel implausible. Even the discovery of the killer felt predictable. Overall I feel this book is difficult to rate because the concept and the first half of the book were really good. The second half of the book feels disappointing because this story had the potential to be so much more but overall the story is still immensely readable.

As for the plot and writing style, Dark Visions is fast paced & exciting with many twists and turns right till the end. There are no real dull areas and those who enjoy detective stories will enjoy this one. 3.5/5

Many thanks to the publishers WildBlue Press, the author James Byron Huggins and NetGalley for the ARC.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

move over stephen king and dean koontz theres a new author in town....

people are being killed for no reason and found before sunset or just after,they suffered violent deaths...why nobody knows...

a blind retired policeman grandson is killed and he wants in on the action

a newbie detective takes him on and together they hunt this murderer....

could not put this book down...gripping story...and this author is now one of my favourites....

Review: DARK VISIONS by James Byron Huggins

An electrifying thriller, frightening in its implacability, DARK VISIONS commences with the killing of a young boy, the grandson of a retired blind detective, a murder which is only the most current in a four-year run. Neither NYPD nor the New York City FBI office have a clue: no DNA, no identifiable pattern. The killer might as well be a ghost.

But choosing as a victim this particular young boy is a serious mistake. His grandfather, Joe Mac Baker, was, and still is, an exceptional detective, a kind of contemporary Sherlock Holmes crossed with the dedication and fervour of Rambo. Paired up with Joe Mac is brand-new detective Jodie Strong, who caught the call on the boy's death on her last day in uniform. Together, they unravel a plot with both historical and metaphysical implications, one so bizarre that it is unbelievable, while all the while someone higher up is circumventing their progress and continually setting them up to die.

If you read Dark Visions you are going to want to learn the authenticity of the portrayal of a raven's behavior and intelligence. Well, I've done the research for you. Ravens are indeed reported to be as intelligent as dolphins and chimpanzees. They can mock human speech as well as other environmental sounds, and they do problem solve. They even display empathy. In Dark Visions the raven, Poe, is more friend and protector than pet to Joe Mac Blake. It is suggested that Poe has a personal connection to and mission from God.

After reading a couple of chapters of Dark Visions I got online to double check that this novel was actually categorized as Christian fiction, which it was. As such, I feel the need to alert readers that it does contain some profanity and that both the name of God and Jesus are at times used carelessly as exclamations. I know that there has been much discussion on various Christian reader social media pages about the use of such language in books labeled as Christian fiction, and just wanted readers to be aware as to be able to make decisions based on their prayerful perspectives.

As to the plot and writing style, Dark Visions is well titled, exciting, fast paced, and has believable dialogue. Joe Mac Blake is a retired NYPD detective who was blinded in the line of duty. He sets out with rookie Detective Jodi Strong to find a serial killer who has included Joe Mac's grandson among his victims. Evidence points to a member of a group of Druids as the prime suspect. Their investigation takes them into the dark underworld of the Druid culture and into a world of danger.

I struggle with rating this book due to the careless use of holy names. I was not terribly bothered by the profanity. If it were not for the misuse of holy names, I would readily give it five stars. I thank NetGalley and Wildblue Press for providing me with a copy of Dark Visions in exchange for an honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

WOW, what a ride!! If you want a book that is full of action and suspense and an ending that you didn't see coming, this is the book for you. I don't usually read this type of book, but I took a chance on it, and I so glad I did. I will be looking for more books by James Byron Huggins, this one was definitely an adrenaline rush!! Thank you NetGalley and WildBlue Press for the ARC copy of this book. This is my honest opinion of this wonderful book.

Joe Mac was a celebrated homicide detective until an accident in the line of duty took his eyesight. Now he lives in his daughter's barn with only his raven, Poe for company. If you think Joe Mac is a little strange, Poe is almost a human in bird form.

When Joe Mac's grandson is murdered, he teams up with Detective Jodi Strong. Even though he lost his eyesight, he didn't lose his abilities as a detective. It says a lot that Strong is willing to work with a blind man to help her solve her first homicide since becoming a detective.

What they discover while tediously working through the few leads they have, they run smack into a cult that has been in existence for centuries .. and killing people for the last 24 years. Men, women, old, young, babies, children ... there seems to be no rhyme nor reason for these killings. And the killings are exceptionally brutal.

Fearlessly following the clues, Mac and Strong track the murderers of his grandson into the deepest, most dangerous heart of ancient nightmares.

There are lots of nail biting moments in this highly suspenseful novel. It is well written with unique, stand-out characters. Joe Mac and Jodi Strong would make wonderful series characters. He's retired but hasn't lost his abilities and Jodi, a rookie detective, is more than willing to listen to Mac and learn. They make a solid team. I love the addition of Poe, a giant raven who seems almost human in his protection of Mac.

Many thanks to the author / WildBlue Press / Netgalley / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The story begins with a heart-wrenching scene - a four year old boy hangs from a tree and all of his bones have been broken.
His grandfather, Joe Mac, is blind and a former police officer and a gold shield homicide investigator, and he wants to help catch the serial killer who killed his grandson and 23 other people.
The police department believes that the suspect is a 180 pound man in his 30’s, and that he sacrifices people in an ancient manner that was prevalent in a lot of different cultures and that he has a bizarre religious psychosis. The man also left no DNA or evidence of any kind in any of the crime scenes, it is like a ghost did the killings.
Jodi, a new detective, asks Joe to go with her to the daycare where Aaron, Joe’s grandson was kidnapped. Jodi goes behind the daycare and she finds a coke can, a chip bag, and a string leading to a dead kitten. Joe says that the killer could have enticed his grandson with a kitten on a string and lured him away from the daycare and put him in his car. This is the first clue and evidence the NYPD has ever received about the killer. They also notice a large crow leading smaller crows over where the kitten’s bones were, the crow also hovers over Joe’s head, he says he has named the crow Poe.
Then the killer tells how he decided to kill an elderly man, he had just killed the little boy a week ago and he did not want anyone to think he had a pattern in who he was going to kill. He he went to his home, which had high hedges, he rung the door bell, stunned the man and carried him to his car. He would burn his clothes in that vehicle and go to where his secondary vehicle was and end his night at the airport parking lot where his primary vehicle was and where he had special sanitary procedures.
You will have to read the book for yourself to find out what happens!