Review: Engaging prequel to LEAVING TIME
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2014
Serenity Jones hears voices--specifically the voices of her spirit guides Desmond and Lucinda. She sees dead people too and makes her living as a  successful TV psychic. Then one day a reading for a young war widow takes an unexpected turn, a spirit starts setting fires around her. Things go from bad to worse when she tries to reclaim her reputation by finding a senator's missing son.WHERE THERE'S SMOKE is a prequel to Jodi Picoult's October release LEAVING TIME to introduce readers to Serenity's character. I found her to be somewhat selfish and myopic, more, more concerned about ratings and reputation than actually helping people. I also thought the people she was trying to help were much more sympathetic and easier to root for. I cares more about what happened to them next, than Serenity, so I'm not sure Picoult accomplished getting me interested in LEAVING TIME due to the character of Serenity. The plot kept me interested and turning the epages and as always, Picoult's writing was engaging.An extra thumbs up to Picoult for giving us the story for free!