I love this book!  Valerie Connelly has an impressive imagination full of mystery and wonder that keeps the reader enthralled throughout. From gritty Chicago to the jungles of the Amazon, this book takes on a life of its own, and what a trip! 

Two strangers, talented but unsuccessful in their lives, are "hired" individually to perform their music once a week at Rita's Bar.  Emily provides vocals with guitar and Dan is a pianist. This is their first performance and the place is packed. Unknown to everyone there, the Grim Reaper is waiting in the wings. Terrorists driving a car bomb for reasons we are not yet privy to, are about to come crashing through the front window.  Only two survive the horrendous blast. Our newly introduced musicians are found alive but unconscious. Rita has disappeared and no one knows if she was vaporized along with all the patrons, or left before the bomb detonation. No bodies are ever recovered.

In another part of the world, not far from Belem, Brazil, an elderly chief of the Tokablaki tribe is about to partake of a ritual which will return him to his earlier vibrant self. A form of rebirth, a kind of fountain of youth.  This ritual had been passed on through the ages, and soon it will be his "Sacred Night".  This ritual will involve the retrieval and ingestion of silt, Algala, from the bottom of the Amazon River. I like to learn something new in books I read and found the chapters about this ritual and its beginnings fascinating. Do I know if this really exists? No, but then this story is tagged a fantasy. Regardless, the author has given this part of the tale a plausibility and a sense of possibility bathed in tribal hierarchy, and therefore it plays a major role in our developing story.  Certainly there is factual information mixed with the fantasy.

Shifting back to our two survivors, they have been hospitalized in the same room and under constant surveillance. Emily is the mother of two girls and Dan is the father of two boys. It is decided for the present the four children would be best served by keeping them all together in a foster home while their individual parents either come out of their coma or pass on. 

There is so much happening in this book all the way through.  Even with three stories weaving in and out, it keeps the reader riveted.  No one realizes that Emily and Dan are together in their comatose world and are trying to unravel puzzles in order to get back to "save" their children.  There is some mysterious substance found in their blood, unidentified. No one knows if this is compromising or helping their chances of survival. Emily's 16 year old daughter Miranda holds part of the key, but no one is listening to her.

Meanwhile, back in the Amazon jungle, many changes are taking place. The "business" that has been going on undetected for so long is in extreme danger, a type of danger that could mean death to our two unwitting  protagonists, Emily and Dan. The Amazon tribe who have been using Algala for so many generations and whose secrets were used to create this life-giving drug, are all killed.  Suicide bombers seem to be reaching out everywhere, and there is no hint of who is controlling them or who will be the next victim(s).

At the hospital, Emily and Dan appear to be losing their battle, they both seem to go through each step together. With so much going on in the book, it is difficult not to give too much away in a review. The tension which started the story has been building steadily, each bombing bringing a new flood of anticipation and fear to the characters and Ms. Connelly has a knack of transferring that anticipation and tension to her reading audience.  The various threads running through the book create their own kind of tension and bring together all the elements in the end, leaving the reader with a feeling of closure and relief, and yet is it the end? We are left with tantalizing possibilities in the future as the few survivors of the Tokablaki tribe hide in the forests of the Amazon.

This was definitely a thrilling ride for me, with lots to keep me interested quite aside from the mystery and thriller components. A complicated story that's easy to read, a difficult and unique challenge to an author and with Valerie Connelly at the helm, we ride out the tumultuous waves to safe harbor and enjoy the sail.

Reviewed on 06/28/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Betty Gelean

 Emily Sanders and Dan Barton are sitting in a bar discussing a possible musical collaboration when, suddenly, a car slams into the building causing an explosion that kills everyone but them. When they awaken, they discover they are 20 years younger and in a Chicago that they don’t recognize. In reality they are in each in a coma that has Dr. David Blume baffled. Aside from a mysterious compound in their blood, he can find no medical reason for their condition. With the help of Emily and Dan’s children, Dr. Blume begins to search for explanations as to the origin of the compound and if anything can be done to counteract its affects.

While all this is going on in Chicago we are transported to the Amazon to witness tribal chief Ahi undergo the Sacred Night ritual and soon learn about a “miracle cure” for old age being sold on the black market that connects both locations. Soon there are more explosions as those involved in the black market ring are eliminated one-by-one and we meet Detective James Cameron as he tries to figure out who is behind everything and how it is all connected.

Sacred Night is the first book written by author Valerie Connelly and I am amazed at how well she connects these seemingly unrelated stories in a way that not only makes sense but is extremely exciting and suspenseful. I also appreciate the fact that this book wasn’t just a standard mystery and enjoyed the addition of some extraordinary elements that I wasn’t expecting, such as the Sacred Night ceremony and the experiences of Emily and Dan while they were in a coma. The book was not only more interesting because of these elements but also much more difficult to put down as I couldn’t wait to see how everything was going to come together.

I would highly recommend this book to mystery fans who are tired of the standard fare or anyone who enjoys suspense filled novels that are a bit on the unusual side. I look forward to Ms. Connelly’s next book and hope she finds great success in her future writing endeavors.

Reviewed on 10/07/2009 by ReviewTheBook.com Member April Hanson

"Sacred Night" right from the beginning is action and suspense and doesn't slow down for a minute!

The story begins with singer Emily Sanders and piano player, Dan Barton at Rita's Bar.  Coincidentally they are both single parents.  At one moment they are discussing co performing and the next a car crashes right through Rita's Bar, killing everyone inside except Dan and Emily.  While at the same time, we are taken behind the wheel of the car that was driven through the bar. 

Dan and Emily wake up 20 years younger in a world which is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time while trying to make it home to their children.  In the other universe of their lives, they are lying in a coma with their children left in limbo, doing everything they can to help their parents.

In the same events, we are taken to the Amazon and meet Ahi, a Tokablaki chief who is going through the enormously grueling process of the Sacred Night ritual. 

Without giving too much away, this book takes us through adventures in the Amazon, the world of suspended Animation in which Emily and Dan are in, terroristic activities and suicidal killers, stopping alzheimers, drug dealing, and love. 


From the moment I began "Sacred Night", I was hooked!  Valerie Connelly's story telling abilities scream loud and clear from page.  I am impressed with her ability to take parallel events and not lose a reader!  I was able to connect with all the characters, to visualize the events, and felt my heart pound with anticipation right up to the end. 

Reviewed on 07/23/2009 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Jaime Huff