Night Machines by Kia Heavey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Psychological Thriller



Maggie decided to have an affair. No one needed to know, not even her lover. . . .


I was intrigued by the description of this book. A lonely woman decides to carry on an affair in her mind just for fun, only to realize that there may be something more to it than just her imagination. I decided to give it a try even though I was afraid it might turn out to be something I wouldn't like. I soon discovered that I could not put Night Machines down. I was so intrigued by the plot I stayed up reading into the wee hours of the morning, hanging onto every word.

Maggie, the main character in the story decides she needs something in her life other than being a wife and mother. After being at home with her kids for 5 years, she's aching to find her own individual identity again. I liked the exploration of relationships, what being faithful in a marriage means, and hanging onto your own individual self after marriage and kids. I think most of us women can relate to this feeling of wanting something that is just our own and not about our family. Maggie takes a part time job at a drug company that develops and manufactures sleep aids. I did find it quite humorous that her boss was named Cambien, a name that sounds very close to a real sleep aid.

As the story unfolds we are taken into the world of Maggie's dreams. I liked the whole premise of dream travel. I've read several fantasy novels with this concept and I always enjoy it. Maggie’s dreams start out romantic, but become more intense and even horrifying as she decides they are unwelcome. I liked that we got a glimpse into other peoples thoughts other than just Maggie’s. We get to see her husband’s point of view a few times, her bosses, and her best friend’s as well as a few other more minor characters. I’m not sure I would have revealed quite as much about the villain so early on, but there are still many questions left unanswered until almost the end of the story.

I would say just as the book blurb says, this book is most certainly hard to categorize. Many who enjoy women's fiction might enjoy it, but then it also is paranormal fantasy, and psychological thriller. I don't think I've ever read anything like it. And while the book did suffer from a bit too much unbelievable masterminding on the villains part (I mean how can he predict how a person will really act if something happens, e.g. the husband investigating the murder case, the wife applying for the job that just happens to be there at the right time.) and a few unlikely coincidences I still felt the story was solid. This author definitely has talent and I would love to read whatever she writes next.



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