Took a while to catch fire this story but once it did it was a good enough read and you end up rooting for the lead player.

Years ago a famous ad campaign that queried "Is it live or is it Memorex?" (Recorded on tape) That stayed on my mind throughout this novel, which in large part faces the question of "Is it Fake, or is it Real?" and the concomitant question, in essence asked of all its characters: "Do you really believe?" Also there's the Theological Conundrums:
"Does Satan exist?" "Does God exist?" "Do I worship, or trust in secular humanity?" As.you read, you will witness the unraveling of conspiracies and ponder these questions for yourself.

Key Take Away: "...Diane M. Johnson was dead-on with her narrative and ability to hold the theme, message, and spirit that I believe she intended."

Review: **SPOILERS**

Honestly, it’s been a while for me since I’ve had the chance to read a story that has involved the church versus the occult. Good against evil. The will of God matched against Satan.

Well maybe that’s not true, but it was refreshing to read through a plot such as that where it’s not completely muddled with humour and angst. Again let me correct myself in making clear that I absolutely love humour in a character, the more the better, but in Perfect Prophet’s style, I will say that any silliness added would have taken from the soul of the story.

So no matter what I say below, remember that I truly believe in my heart that Diane M. Johnson was dead-on with her narrative and ability to hold the theme, message, and spirit that I believe she intended. Her words were not derailed with a misconceived notion that her reader needed ridiculousness.

The book sets out with the guitarist of a metal band, Alec Lowell, getting shot through the chest mid-performance. Through this commotion, we are introduced to the other members of his band. His “apostles” let’s just call them, although they are never referred to as such, but it's fun for me to do so.

I should add that for some reason when a music genre is usually written into the plot, I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth...I'm left with a feeling the author doesn’t really know their stuff.

Here I did not.

There weren't pages of lyrics (I’m not actually going to read those, you know that right?) And the bits of info I do get are enough to leave me with the normal coffee and cigarette taste that should be in there.

Cleo, the vocal, Paddy, the kid drummer phenomena, and Mark on bass (but also on the books, being the only one them concerned with the business side of things).

The band is the typical heavy-metal-stereotyped group. Drugs and alcohol are a must and the more satanic, anti-God and church message they can push with their music the better.
This adds some meat to the plot as all members of the band are, at best, atheists and must all come to terms with Alec's miraculous recovery from a bullet through the heart. Healing in record time, Alec is front page news, giving his band some much-needed publicity and also giving an ex cause to reconnect.

...“ohh btw, Alec, you’re the father of my son...” that’s not quite how it played out, but that’s the gist.

Lindy (the mom) is actually a nice lady despite her suspicious timing (suspicions from me, the reader, not to any character). Jake, his newly discovered son, is just a normal, sweet ol' kid.

Alec thinks Lindy is sweet as well, I guess, cause they hook up right away...telling Cleo to take a hike. In my experience with such situations there is much screaming, some possible threats, and definitely excommunication. By the end, Cleo and Lindy become good friends, Alec's genitals are intact as well, and I begin to suspect that beyond Alec's ability to heal himself, he has a godly ability to maintain peace among ex-girlfriends. Somehow there seems to be zero animosity in a situation that would at the very least leave the unholy presence of passive aggression. If this were reality, I am sure such a man would be blessed with a title of “Saint."

The Saint of “let’s stay friends," Alec Lowell.

Alec takes a reprieve from the spotlight and spends some time in his small hometown, living with Lindy and beginning his relationship with his son. Things seem to be going well for Alec, slowly dealing with the emotions and anxiety that should and do come with being shot through the heart (the "why me?" and all that) plus we start to see some decent character development in this new atmosphere of fatherhood.

Taking a side note here, I would like to thank Diane for how she took me through this bond. As the book progresses, we see Alec succumbing to the stress and fears of being responsible for a child, going from a carefree, don’t give a shit guy, to an "I need to protect this child, man" guy. In my opinion, it is written proportionally, not smushed in my nose. It is sincere.

As Alec deals, we realize he happens to be dead centre...or should I say in the “heart" of a satanic hotbed. I mean these weirdos are everywhere. It’s basically the whole town.

They are led by a young man named Lucas (cough, Lucifer...). Well, at least it’s not Damian. Either way, he and his deformed hand lead a group of robe wearing, orgy practicing, sacrifice making devil worshipers against the great Alec Lowell. There is even an entire black book in their possession that foretells of Alec's coming and the need to sacrifice him for their greater good.

(Sorry, I shouldn’t explain, but I am concerned you didn’t catch that...I wrote: for the devil worshiper’s “greater good"...that's super witty.)

Also, I should add that this black book was written by Alec's estranged father. You can guess that such a plot would start to turn into a hybrid occult soap opera. It does not. I’m still good with it.

So the scene is set for Alec to grow, through trepidation and toil, spirit and sin.

In a way, this is Alec’s coming of age story. His internal struggle with his own beliefs and with himself is as important as any of the external struggle we see as his apostles jump to his aid, ready to take a bullet or knife. If only one of these apostles would have pointed out the miracle of his new girlfriend and ex (that he abruptly dumped) becoming instant besties, Alec would have had the huge time-saving epiphany that he was, without doubt, the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

If you feel like me, and it has been a long time since you read or even watched a wholesome “saint vs. sinner" story, please take a look at this one...there’s something nostalgic to it.

You’ll get what you expect in a good way.

9 out 10 Hail Marys.

Have a nice day.

Spooky, atmospheric and creepy. A great Halloween read. Kept me gripped from the word go and left me guessing.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Alec is the lead singer in a satanist band. One day on stage he is shot but he makes it and lives on. However, after the accident and his recovery, Alec changes a lot and tries to discover himself and make some amends regarding his family, his ex-girlfriend, father and sister. Through this rediscovering journey, Alec finds out many shocking things specifically about his father and his dark secrets.

I enjoyed reading this book, it is dark as I expected it to be and entertaining at the same time. The characters development I think could've been somehow more tuned. Two main things I have to criticize here though, one of them is the ending, it did not feel as satisfying as I was hoping it to be. I was expecting a stronger conclusion. The other thing is that I felt the drama and story were going over the top at many times. I usually prefer this kind of thrillers to be more subtle. The more subtle it gets the more chilling and horrifying it becomes. Perfect Prophet did not have this subtle plot. It had more action than necessary.

Overall this book was an entertaining read and I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.0. I grabbed an advanced copy of this book from the Read Now section on NetGalley and this is my honest and unbiased review.

Creepy.....to me.

I loved it tho! Its very interesting and it had me hooked from cover to cover

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's been a long time since I've come across a really satisfying Satanists versus the good guys story and that is just what Perfect Prophet delivers. I'm not going to get into the plot too much except to say I wasn't convinced this death metal band was going to interest me much. I was wrong.
Race With The Devil is mentioned in the book but I was already reminded of it before then. It also has shades of Salem's Lot and Let's Scare Jessica To Death. No there are no vampires but you just never know who you can trust and who is in league with the devil.

I am the Resurrection, and I am the Light

So says Jesus. And Ian Brown. But not Alec Lowell, lead guitarist in ‘The Great’ and the antagonistic protagonist of Diane M. Johnson’s second novel, an atheistic anarchist who finds himself thrust into the centre of the ultimate Light vs Dark battle.

This story plays out as a supernatural mystery, fantastical elements of black magic and miracles running alongside the classic ‘Whodunnit’ (or rather, Whoissit) of the true persona of The Man, Ashland’s satanic cult leader. The reader is taken on a journey of theological debate and personal struggle as Alec survives a bullet that should surely have killed him, returns home to his family and begins to uncover the secrets of his devoutly religious father.

I found the language and style of writing a little heavy going at times, and this novel took several evenings of perseverance to complete. The subject matter, as any type of theology, requires more than comfy slippers and a mug of hot chocolate to fully devour and appreciate, and I felt the great time leaps between Alec’s major life incidents confusing at times. The idea of an entire town being composed of Satanists, and not knowing who (including law enforcement) to trust came across very intensely, and had me ‘edge of my seat’-ing as if I were watching a Final Girl trying to survive the night in a classic horror film.

Overall, I really enjoyed Perfect Prophet, if I could suspend my disbelief at the darkest of dark magicks taking place in a small town in Wisconsin, of all places. And The Great singer Cleo’s propensity to call everyone ‘hon.’ If you’re after something with a little more meat than your standard mystery thriller, I would recommend giving this a try. But keep a clear head and an open mind as you go!

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.