At First Light
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-02 21:21:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Barbara Nickless
- ISBN：B088R4TLHT
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Ritual murder。 Archaic clues。 A visionary killer。 In this heart-stopping novel by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Sydney Rose Parnell series， words can kill。
On the muddy banks of the Calumet River， a body has been found posed next to a series of mysterious glyphs and bearing wounds from a ritualistic slaying。 Chicago detective Addie Bisset knows only one man who can decipher the message left by the killer: her friend Dr。 Evan Wilding。 A brilliant forensic semiotician， Evan decodes the etchings as Viking Age runes。 They suggest either human sacrifice or righteous punishment。 But to what god？ And for what sins？
Only one thing is clear from the disturbing runic riddles: there are more victims to come。
As Evan races to determine the identity of the Viking Poet， he and Addie uncover the killer’s most terrifying secret yet: the motive。 This startling discovery puts Evan’s life in mortal danger， and verse by ancient verse， time is running out。
On the muddy banks of the Calumet River， a body has been found posed next to a series of mysterious glyphs and bearing wounds from a ritualistic slaying。 Chicago detective Addie Bisset knows only one man who can decipher the message left by the killer: her friend Dr。 Evan Wilding。 A brilliant forensic semiotician， Evan decodes the etchings as Viking Age runes。 They suggest either human sacrifice or righteous punishment。 But to what god？ And for what sins？
Only one thing is clear from the disturbing runic riddles: there are more victims to come。
As Evan races to determine the identity of the Viking Poet， he and Addie uncover the killer’s most terrifying secret yet: the motive。 This startling discovery puts Evan’s life in mortal danger， and verse by ancient verse， time is running out。
Reviews
Jamie Jack
，
Excellent Thriller Steeped in Ancient Norse Symbols and LoreWhat a delightful， utterly satisfying thriller！ The pace is perfect， and I like how the author goes back and forth between the smart detective’s police inquiry and the semiotics professor’s deep dive into ritualistic murders steeped in ancient Viking history and runic lore。 （FYI， semiotics is the study of signs and symbols， specifically their uses and interpretation。） The author must have had to research a TON， but she doesn’t make the Excellent Thriller Steeped in Ancient Norse Symbols and LoreWhat a delightful， utterly satisfying thriller！ The pace is perfect， and I like how the author goes back and forth between the smart detective’s police inquiry and the semiotics professor’s deep dive into ritualistic murders steeped in ancient Viking history and runic lore。 （FYI， semiotics is the study of signs and symbols， specifically their uses and interpretation。） The author must have had to research a TON， but she doesn’t make the book feel like a history or symbol lesson。 Despite the excellent， page-turning pacing， the author has still created complex， multi-layered characters。 I love that！ So often， thrillers focus on the chase and twists of the plot。 Three-dimensional， deep characterization of police and consultants is rare in thrillers; we’re more apt to see a deeper look into the mind of the villain; I appreciated the intricate blend of strengths and vulnerabilities she imbued the detective and professor with。 I look forward to checking out the author’s catalog—this was my first book of hers—and I certainly will watch out for more featuring the intriguing Dr。 Evan Wilding。I received a free copy of this book， but that did not affect my review。 。。。more
Tamara
，
I walked by this book sitting on my mantle for at least a week， before I picked it up and started reading it。 The only problem with this Authors' masterpieces， is once you start reading， you cannot put the book down！ I knew that I needed most of the day dedicated to reading before I dare open to the first page。As promised， At First Light， is another page turner！ Barbara Nickless， you are amazing！ Every book that you write is another feast for my eyes。 Any lucky souls out there that are just star I walked by this book sitting on my mantle for at least a week， before I picked it up and started reading it。 The only problem with this Authors' masterpieces， is once you start reading， you cannot put the book down！ I knew that I needed most of the day dedicated to reading before I dare open to the first page。As promised， At First Light， is another page turner！ Barbara Nickless， you are amazing！ Every book that you write is another feast for my eyes。 Any lucky souls out there that are just starting to read the Author's first book "Blood On The Tracks" 。。。。you are blessed and can "binge read" to catch up。 I， unfortunately have to be patiently impatient and wait for the next course to bestow my eyes upon。Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early review copy。And most of all， thank you Barbara Nickless for doing all the research and hard work to keep us entertained and enthralled！ 。。。more
Dee Arr
，
A corpse is discovered on the banks of Chicago’s Calumet River， carefully arranged with ritualistic intent。 When a second murder contains similarities， Detective Addie Bisset and her partner Detective Patrick McBrady realize they are up against a serial killer。 The slayer has left pieces of a long poem at each site， each with clues that could solve the killer’s motive and identity。 The fact that the messages consist of ancient runes adds a difficult challenge， one that Addie hopes will be succes A corpse is discovered on the banks of Chicago’s Calumet River， carefully arranged with ritualistic intent。 When a second murder contains similarities， Detective Addie Bisset and her partner Detective Patrick McBrady realize they are up against a serial killer。 The slayer has left pieces of a long poem at each site， each with clues that could solve the killer’s motive and identity。 The fact that the messages consist of ancient runes adds a difficult challenge， one that Addie hopes will be successfully translated by semiotician Dr。 Evan Wilding。Addie and Evan lead us through the action， and Ms。 Nickless deftly describes both characters as they race to catch the unknown suspect before there is another killing。 The deep knowledge of runes， epic poetry， and the ritualistic customs of people who lived long before us lends an aura of believability to the story。 While Addie is pounding the pavement searching for and verifying clues， Dr。 Wilding is performing his own style of police procedural research， each matching the other step by step。 The crafted result by Ms。 Nickless creates a perfect pacing that draws the reader into the story， keeps us interested during the middle section， and finishes at a run。 If you’ve never read a Barbara Nickless novel before， you are in for a rare treat。 Her members of the police force are hardened but not to the point where they have become jaded and lost sight of the human aspects of their job。 Dr。 Wilding is an interesting character， and Ms。 Nickless provides a detailed sketch that emphasizes both his talents and his flaws， certainly enough to cause me to want to see him in a future book。 Highly recommended。 Five stars。My thanks to the author and Thomas and Mercer for a complimentary advance copy of this book。 。。。more
Robert
，
First of all I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for an early review copy of At First Light。 As a fan of Nickless's Sidney Parnell series I went into this read with a bit of an attitude。 Would this Evan Wilding and his forensic linguistics slant on murder be as compelling as railroad cop Parnell and her dog Clyde。 I needn't have worried。 Nickless's command of intrigue and the English language hooked me from the get go。 Once again Nickless has hit it out of the park。 I've said it before a First of all I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for an early review copy of At First Light。 As a fan of Nickless's Sidney Parnell series I went into this read with a bit of an attitude。 Would this Evan Wilding and his forensic linguistics slant on murder be as compelling as railroad cop Parnell and her dog Clyde。 I needn't have worried。 Nickless's command of intrigue and the English language hooked me from the get go。 Once again Nickless has hit it out of the park。 I've said it before and I'll say it again， Nickless's prose is like violent poetry。 And I just got to say it in spite of myself。 I love Evan Wilding！ What a unique and vulnerable character。 。。。more
Michael Shepherd
，
Ever since I learned that my favorite author， Barbara Nickless， was going to start a new series， highlighting Dr。 Evan Wilding， a forensic semiotician， I’ve been eagerly awaiting the moment when I could devour her words to see where she’d take the story At First Light。 Now， with thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early review copy， I can happily say the wait was worth it！What a story！ I was immediately drawn into Evan Wilding’s world， and I loved following how his mind processed the Ever since I learned that my favorite author， Barbara Nickless， was going to start a new series， highlighting Dr。 Evan Wilding， a forensic semiotician， I’ve been eagerly awaiting the moment when I could devour her words to see where she’d take the story At First Light。 Now， with thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early review copy， I can happily say the wait was worth it！What a story！ I was immediately drawn into Evan Wilding’s world， and I loved following how his mind processed the clues that he saw。 More than that， I could feel him as a person--a man with a beautiful mind and personality that always played second fiddle to the man that people saw…a person with dwarfism。 As I devoured the book and was completely fascinated by the depth of research that it took to write such an intricate thriller， I couldn’t help but wonder how Evan felt at how he was perceived。 You can say one thing to the world， but in the mirror is where a person faces the truth。 I continually wondered about Evan’s truth。 In other words， he became real to me。 I don’t want to spoil the suspense that awaits the reader， but suffice to say I learned much more about Vikings and Norse mythology than I ever could have imagined。 Barbara took us on an incredibly layered， wild ride with a flawed yet heroic protagonist， opened my eyes to a world I’d never before imagined， and whetted my appetite for the next installment starring Dr。 Evan Wilding。Thank you， Barbara Nickless， for making this such a great read！ 。。。more
Mike
，
Intelligent， engaging， and lots of fun！ I've been a fan of Barbara Nickless' work since her first novel， Blood on the Tracks， and At First Light is one of her best yet。 Semiotician Dr。 Evan Wilding is a unique and compelling protagonist， and the puzzle his friend and would-be love interest， Chicago homicide detective Addie Bissett， brings him in to help solve is tantalizingly gruesome in its particulars and mythic in scale。 Intellectually and emotionally engaging on multiple levels， At First Lig Intelligent， engaging， and lots of fun！ I've been a fan of Barbara Nickless' work since her first novel， Blood on the Tracks， and At First Light is one of her best yet。 Semiotician Dr。 Evan Wilding is a unique and compelling protagonist， and the puzzle his friend and would-be love interest， Chicago homicide detective Addie Bissett， brings him in to help solve is tantalizingly gruesome in its particulars and mythic in scale。 Intellectually and emotionally engaging on multiple levels， At First Light entertains throughout。 Highly recommended！ Thank you to NetGalley， Thomas & Mercer， and Barbara Nickless for providing me with a review copy。 。。。more
Martha
，
I am a big fan of Barbara Nickless and her Blood on the Tracks series。 After reading a prerelease copy of At First Light， I can honestly say she has outdone herself。 The plot was complex and utterly engaging。 She did her research！ Her writing was deep and clever as always。 It’s a must read by this talented author。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=At First Light
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=At First Light&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,At First Light&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0