Niquette "Nikki" Delongpre, Ben Broyard, and Anthem Landry were practically inseparable until the night Nikki and her family vanished. Ben and Anthem tried to keep their lives going but the tragic disappearance has set them on different paths, one seeking out truth no matter how hidden while the other hides behind a bottle. Now, a decade later, the events of that fateful night are coming to light. Meanwhile, Marshall Ferriot has been in a coma-like state for years but an awakening is at hand... with Nikki at the center stage of it all. Just what happened to cause the disappearance of an entire family ten years ago?

THE HEAVENS RISE is an eerie tale of the supernatural set against the backdrop of the swamps of New Orleans. Christopher Rice does a marvelous job at incorporating the imagery of New Orleans into the tale. In fact, it is the vividness of the setting that enhances the spookiness of THE HEAVENS RISE as this is the sort of story that had to occur in New Orleans to be believable. The beauty of the imagery leaves a lasting impression, particularly as modern day events such as Katrina are interwoven into the world building.

Christopher Rice expertly weaves together the past and the present as the tale alternates back and forth between the timeframes, giving us the full history of the four main characters and how they ended up as they are today. The air of constant mystery surrounding the characters remains until all is revealed and then we can see the true horror that occurred that fateful night. The ending isn't completely unexpected but rather it is the strength of the character building and the richness of the imagery that makes THE HEAVENS RISE so chilling.

THE HEAVENS RISE focuses on the monsters within each of us as Christopher Rice gives a face and a vision to these monsters. I didn't want to put this book down, even as I wanted it to last longer. This was the first book I have read by Christopher Rice but it will most certainly not be the last. I can't recommend THE HEAVENS RISE enough!

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice returns to New Orleans in this supernatural novel featuring a group of teenagers who find themselves with mysterious and dangerous powers.

My name is Niquette Delongpre and on the night before my mother’s forty-seventh birthday, my entire family vanished without a trace. Everyone assumed the swamp swallowed them. They were wrong. The real story begins weeks earlier, in the very soil of the place we called Elysium, which means “final resting place for the heroic and virtuous.” An ironic name, given that the secret unearthed there has the potential to change the course of human history.

Deep in the swamps outside of New Orleans, Niquette Delongpre and her family uncover a well on their property—a well that has roots all the way down into the soils of the Mississippi River. A well that brings ancient things to the surface—things that should have stayed buried.

When Niquette is exposed to a small parasite, it triggers in her mysterious and dangerous powers. As she tries to come to grips with these new abilities and what they might mean for her future, she realizes that she is not alone. Someone else, someone who was exposed to the same mysterious parasite during a clandestine visit to the swamp Niquette would rather keep secret, also is discovering his new talents, and he’s not as nice as she is…