Wicked Dreams

In bestsellers Jackson and Bush’s convoluted fifth and final paranormal romantic thriller in their Colony series (after 2014’s Wicked Ways), an unidentified body washes up on a beach across from Oregon’s Echo Island, the home of the mysterious women who inhabit Siren Song Lodge (aka the Colony). With the body is a note reading “next of kin,” along with the cellphone number of private detective Ravinia Rutledge, the youngest daughter of Mary Rutledge, a Colony member who’s said to be a witch “gifted with pheromones.” This gift has allowed Mary to “enslave men,” with the result that she has many children of uncertain paternity, a cause of conflict among the half-siblings. The same morning, another body is found on the beach, and witnesses claim to have seen a young girl running from the scene. A few hours later, a third homicide victim turns up in the same area. What or who connects these deaths? After a slow start, the action picks up and builds to a fiery conclusion. The vast cast and interlocking backstories all but bury the straightforward mystery plot. Though billed as a standalone, this is not the place to start for newcomers. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Jan.)