The Last Days of Madame Rey
Second in the Stephan Raszer Investigation series

by A.W. Hill

A. W. Hill's second installment in the Stephan Raszer Investigation series, The Last Days of Madame Rey, is stellar. A very unique private eye, Stephan Raszer is steeped in arcane, esoteric lore and twenty-first century gadgets and intrigue. He is part James Bond, part occult scholar, and part Hollywood chameleon. His latest case seems simple enough: rescue a young lawyer from a neo-Nazi cult based on Mt. Shasta. Raszer's investigation takes him to Madame Rey's tarot parlor, to the base of an awakening volcano, and to the exotic sands of Morocco.

The mystery that unfolds covers volcanology, Nazi mysticism, gypsy etiquette, and American Indian legends surrounding Mt. Shasta . Everybody has a theory and another piece of the puzzle. There are also wild chases and escapes, love scenes (both dark and beautiful), and enough suspense for five books. Yet, Hill's writing is tight and flowing, even in didactic places. His characters are well-drawn and believable, though eccentric and sometimes bigger than life. Yet they all fit within the parameters of this most unusual story.

Since Hill is the director of an MFA program in music composition, I was flat out amazed at the amount of esoteric research that Hill put into this book. It colored every page but did not stand on a soapbox and teach. It did its job; it held the story together. Though I had been familiar with some of Hill's arcane knowledge, there was much I had never encountered before. All of it was neatly woven into the fabric of the tale. I found out later that Hill writes about physics and esoteric religion in the LA Weekly.

The Last Days of Madame Rey is a true page-turner. I couldn't get through the book fast enough and was well satisfied with the ending. I just wanted more. Hill's first Stephan Raszer novel, Enoch's Portal, was optioned by Paramount Pictures. I will seek that one out until A.W. Hill has book three written. I can't wait!