Four Dominions: A Testament Novel

A small accident propels bestseller Lustbader’s turgid third Testament novel (after 2017’s The Fallen). Aboard a private plane above the Mediterranean en route home to New York City, artifacts expert Emma Shaw studies a centuries-old manuscript that’s supposed to be the Book of Deathly Things, The Testament of the First One to Fall, Brother of Michael, the Seraph Lucifer, King of Kings. When the aircraft briefly loses altitude, Emma spills lemonade on the parchment, revealing hidden text that leads to her being possessed by a demon, Beleth. The demon-possessed Emma, a key player in the master plan of the evil Leviathan to enable the fallen angels to “free Heaven from the tyranny of God,” sets out to turn her medieval scholar brother, Bravo, to the dark side. Because Lustbader doesn’t imbue his characters with any depth, readers will find suspending disbelief a challenge. Other authors of supernatural thrillers, such as Jim Butcher, have done a better job of making buy-ins to similar plot lines easier. [em]Agent: Henry Morrison, Henry Morrison Inc. (July) [/em]