With her second book in “The Color of Evil” series, entitled “Red Is for Rage,” author Connie (Corcoran) Wilson takes the story of a young boy with a paranormal ability further, exploring Tad McGreevy’s Tetrachromatic Super Vision more fully, giving a name to his paranormal power to “see” colored auras around others that tell whether that individual is good or evil.
RED IS FOR RAGE is the second book in the award-winning THE COLOR OF EVIL series by Connie (Corcoran) Wilson. THE COLOR OF EVIL won the E-Lit Gold Medal for Horror (Jenkins Group) and the Silver Feather (IWPA, Illinois Women’s Press Association)).
In Book Two, we learn more about the exact nature of Tad’s paranormal power, Tetrachromatic Super Vision. Can this keen sight help Tad find Stevie Scranton? Will Tad suffer another breakdown from reliving the crimes of serial killer Michael Clay (aka, Pogo, the Killer Clown), as he did when only eight years old? Can Tad learn to harness his special sight to help those he loves?
When Stevie Scranton went missing in Book One, best friend Tad vowed to do everything he could to find him. Even if Stevie is dead, Sally and Earl Scranton, (his parents), and Shannon, (Stevie’s older sister), crave closure. Tad enlists the help of retired policeman Charlie Chandler and a team of volunteers, including Charlie’s old partner, Evelyn Hoeflinger. This rag-tag team of detectives continues searching for Stevie Scranton, the runty misfit of Cedar Falls’ Sky High. In their search, they discover a monster every bit as dangerous as Pogo and must confront him in order to save Stevie.
Tad sees auras around others that tell him whether they are good or evil. The truly evil are surrounded by a khaki aura (THE COLOR OF EVIL). At night, Tad suffers vivid nightmares that depict the crimes of the evil-doers. Michael Clay (the serial killer Pogo) escapes custody. On the loose again, Pogo’s actions restart the vicious cycle of violent nightmares. Pogo poses a threat to the entire town of Cedar Falls, Iowa, but he is especially a threat to Tad McGreevy.
Pogo has one main goal: kill Tad McGreevy so that Tad cannot disclose Clay’s location. Pogo doesn’t realize that, up until now, Tad has been unable to harness the paranormal ability he possesses. Now, Tad McGreevy must try to learn to use his unique gift. Stevie Scranton’s fate hangs in the balance. Tad’s power, if precognitive, could save everyone he loves.
Connie (Corcoran) Wilson, a university professor of writing and Yahoo Featured Content Contributor of the Year (2008)—who has been writing for over half a century, but only turned to fiction in 2003—once again turns her considerable gifts to the task of bringing to life the students of Cedar Falls’ Sky High (the University Lab school) come alive on the page.
Comparisons to Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Philip K. Dick aside, Wilson has spent 33 years teaching students in this age range; she knows what she is talking about. The dialogue and situations of the students ring true, with some humor thrown in to leaven the tension.
If you enjoyed THE COLOR OF EVIL, you’ll definitely enjoy this continuation of the story of the students of Sky High, including Tad McGreevy, Jenny SanGiovanni, Stevie Scranton and Janice Kramer. The classic struggle between good and evil serves as a backdrop to the personal struggles of the characters and, beneath it all, the message that “Everyone must pay” comes through loud and clear.
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(Gary Braver, author of “Flashback” and 8 other sci fi thrillers. Gary Goshgarian known by his pen name Gary Braver is an English professor at Northeastern University (Boston), where he teaches courses in science fiction, modern bestsellers, horror fiction, and fiction writing.
He is also the editor of six college writing textbooks with Longman Publishers as well as editor of the short fiction horror anthology Horrorscape (1993).
Braver’s books have been translated into 7 languages, and three have been optioned for movies. Gary Braver has been called “one of the best thriller writers in America”.
Before teaching at Northeastern, Braver was a physicist at Raytheon Co. He has a degree in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an M.A. in English from the University of Connecticut, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
His fiction and nonfiction pieces have appeared in The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Writer Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and the award-winning Thriller 2 Anthology.)