Kelley Armstrong has developed a reputation over the years for strong heroines and compelling stories. Omens, the first volume in the Cainsville trilogy, does not disappoint. The novel centers around Olivia Taylor Jones, a 20-something heiress who learns from an incautious reporter that she is adopted and her biological parents are convicted serial killers. Suddenly engulfed in scandal, Olivia flees her wealthy family, her fiancé and her life in Chicago, relocating to her birthplace, the sleepy Illinois town of Cainsville.
Omens is an example of the best kind of urban fantasy--the sort that realistically blends the mundane and supernatural and puts as much love into the creation of the commonplace as it does the eldritch. Indeed, the supernatural elements here are for the most part subtle, arguably less crucial than the development of Armstrong's characters. As the name of the series implies, the town of Cainsville is as much a character in this novel as Olivia. Armstrong presents a number of insightful relationships--Olivia's troubled dynamic with her biological parents, her growing assimilation into rural and secretive Cainsville, an understated love interest--that are compelling and ring true. It is a pleasure to watch Olivia transform over the course of the novel as her circumstances and environment change.
Although the languorous pace of Cainsville is not for the restless reader, those willing to make the journey will find themselves enchanted and eager to return. --Katie Montgomery, book nerd