This book has a dark yet intriguing concept. People can connect with a medium when dying to gather information from the newly dead related to crimes or terrorism. However, the person collecting the information needs to understand the version of the afterlife the target believes in. This leads us into a somewhat dark urban fantasy in which the main criminal is a serial killer who has kidnapped a busload of school children. The lead character is a veteran suffering from guilt following a loss in Afghanistan. The main problem I had is that the main character is thrown into carrying out tasks with apparently no training, which is really unrealistic for a secret military operation. Also, there are some real messes that occur due to questionable information that would have been prevented by simple, cautious police work. Finally, I had to really suspend disbelief regarding how easily it is to match a dying person to someone else's vision of the afterlife. The visions of the various afterlives are interesting and varied. The internal intrigue within the organization, the revelations the heroine experiences, and the climatic scenes were quite creepy and satisfying.

I received a copy in exchange for a review. ( )

I received this book from the LibraryThing Member giveaway. The premise is that when people die, they can communicate for a shot period of time with a psychic, Atilla. It is by this means that criminals are contacted after death and crimes solved. Bam! Who says the death of the main suspect has to bring a case to a halt. Except that a terminally ill patient has to volunteer to end their life early so that they can communicate.
Lt. Col. Christine Kurzow attempted suicide after eleven soldiers under her command were killed by a suicide bomber, of course she blames herself. She no has special talents and is recruited into the Terminals as a handler. Her first case is to convincing a Gnostic Monk to follow Hiller the Killer into the afterlife and find the location of a bus with eleven children he kidnapped before his death. Does it seem coincidental that she lost eleven soldiers and now must rescue eleven children, tit for tat? One little problem, this is a highly spiritual job, and Christine is an atheist.
I really liked this book, Stewarts writing style kept the story flowing and the pages turning, I kept getting drawn back in, with the classic line "Just one more chapter." I can't wait for the next one in the series.

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Even among the paranormal/supernatural genres, Michael F. Stewart’s The Terminals: Spark stands out as unusual—and that’s in a good way, which makes me wonder why it hasn’t been picked up by a mass market publisher yet.

The premise is that humans’ experience in the afterlife is determined by the religious beliefs—and some of those afterlives are pretty gruesome. When an Iraq vet—and there’s a really interesting origin story here—is recruited by a special agency to “handle” their operatives, the point is to make sure that she’s “dying for a reason.”

Her job is to work with terminal patients to interrogate dead criminals and come up with the means to solve—and prevent—crimes on this side of the veil. But her first case is a doozy, and Lt. Col. Christine Kurzow is carrying a lot of baggage from her Iraq service and the mistaken judgment that cost her men their lives.

Unusual—and thought-provoking—because of the attention paid to religious doctrines and beliefs about sin, punishment and redemption, this novel is well worth the low price that Amazon is currently charging for an ebook, and is definitely a good set-up for sequels.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com ( )

I started this book yesterday evening and finished it before going to sleep sometime after midnight. The first line, “Dying for a reason is a good reason to live” hooked me and I remained so through the entire book. This story is dark, gritty, graphic and at times horrific. There are paranormal, military, criminal, romantic, personal, religious and psychological elements that are covered in a way that engages and intrigues. This book was not what I expected – it was more than I expected. It drew me in, made me think, had me questioning and rooting for a solution to more than one situation. The imagination of Mr. Stewart is phenomenal and his writing impeccable. I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future. I should probably mention that this book came my way through a librarything giveaway in May and but I also have to say that it was a very generous gift and that I am sorry I didn’t read it sooner! ( )

I started the book with an open mind, it's very different from anything i've read before. Saying that, i couldn't put it down. The story is unique and fascinating and very well written. I can't say i'm a fan of all the characters, but it's written well enough i didn't have to. ( )