Present Day England -- Gothic Romantic/Psychological Suspense
Bronze medal for the entire Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category in eLit Book Awards!
One of the year's best dozen Thrillers BestThrillers.com beat out competitors Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Dean koontz, John Grisham and more!
"Magical, mysterious, sensual and utterly profound. One of the year’s best thrillers.
Tantra Bensko’s Encore is one of the most sophisticated romantic suspense novels in recent memory. Like Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, Bensko weaves in history, real-world myths and legend into the novel. But make no mistake, this is an utterly contemporary piece of work. Beyond the series’ theme of exposing social engineering, the novel explores the attraction of cult leaders and the role of power in sexual fantasies (favorite line: “Some mass murderers were attractive. I would have fallen for them. Scary”).
Book clubs will have need overtime to devour all the references to the occult, literature and art, to say nothing of the Shambhalla and Atlantis. But readers need not be overly cerebral to enjoy Encoreas a romantic suspense novel. While technically Book 3 in Bensko’s Nevermind series, the novel is a perfect entry point to the work of one of today’s most distinctive voices."
From review at BestThrillers.com
Tantra Bensko’s Encore is one of the most sophisticated romantic suspense novels in recent memory. Like Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, Bensko weaves in history, real-world myths and legend into the novel. But make no mistake, this is an utterly contemporary piece of work. Beyond the series’ theme of exposing social engineering, the novel explores the attraction of cult leaders and the role of power in sexual fantasies (favorite line: “Some mass murderers were attractive. I would have fallen for them. Scary”).
Book clubs will have need overtime to devour all the references to the occult, literature and art, to say nothing of the Shambhalla and Atlantis. But readers need not be overly cerebral to enjoy Encoreas a romantic suspense novel. While technically Book 3 in Bensko’s Nevermind series, the novel is a perfect entry point to the work of one of today’s most distinctive voices."
From review at BestThrillers.com
Readers are comparing Encore to Shutter Island, Inland Empire, and Mullholland Drive.
A brilliant hypnotist named Dune works with the Bennu performance troupe (named after the Egyptian flamingo deity. Bennu is the equivalent of the Greek phoenix. Bennu/pheonix is associated with the renewal from the ashes with initiation into occult secret societies.)
Dune is married to the star of the troupe, Susan. Because of the hypnotic training he puts the performers and their standbys through, the troupe has become the most famous in England. The standbys actually believe they're the actors they're pretending to be until the curtain goes down and they snap back into remembering who they are. To be convincing as the core actors on a subconscious level, they also breathe in their actor's extra auric energy.
Susan's standby is Miriam. Though Miriam's friend, Colin, doesn't know it, Miriam and Dune have intense chemistry that has kept her from being open to more appropriate romances. Colin and Miriam kiss for the first time, and begin to consider there may be more to their friendship.
Susan is dying of cancer, so she's struggling to manage performing the last of the season. However, if Susan's able to perform, Miriam can't prove she can lead the next season. What to do?
Located in present day England, rich with occult history, this 110,000 word stand-alone novel for men and women embraces the Gothic Fiction tradition, complete with all the tropes, sure to satisfy the most discerning scholars in the field as well as sweep you off your feet with romance.
Immerse yourself in the passionate world of performance artist Miriam as she loses and discovers her identity, from the avant-garde theater in the city to the moors and tors of windswept countryside in an alchemist's castle, with mysterious footsteps, and paintings constantly re-arranged. Learn the history of how international legends have been rearranged for military purposes. And surrender yourself to a grandly cinematic windswept love story.
Here's the WEBSITE specifically for Encore, featuring occult history and here's the WEBSITE for Seductive Psychological Suspense.
