Stonefly by Scott J. Holliday

I received a free e-copy from the publisher with the intention of writing an honest review.

This book was so good that I didn't stop reading it until I had finished it.

Jacob Duke has spent the six years in a mental institute because he had no control of his curse. He was 10 years old when he killed the local bully because a girl in his class wished that he was dead. Jacob then spent two years being dragged from one psychiatrist to another. It wasn't his fault that he killed the bully but he couldn't tell them why he did it, he couldn't explain how his blood boiled and his hands trembled and he couldn't stop thinking of ways to kill him.

When he was in the institute he worked out what the rules were regarding his curse and also what the consequences were if he didn't manage to fulfil the wish. Because of this he stole a pencil from the nursing station and poked them into his ears and deafened himself so he would never be able to hear a wish and be forced to grant it.

When he is released on his eighteenth birthday, his mother tells him about his father and gives him a totem that he had left for Jacob. When his mother tells him about his father he is understandably upset, as far as he is concerned he was abandoned. He had no clue who he was but over the years he tracked down details and finally worked out who his father was but he never went to find him.

With the help of his mother he set up a tattoo shop and met Lori who he has been in love with ever since but she doesn't return his feelings.

When he was in the institute he made a promise to himself that when he was released he would return to the area for a vacation and that is where the book starts. He is stood in the river, fly-fishing, when he sees a young boy crying. Without realising it, the boy makes a wish for his father to be dead and triggers the curse. Now Jacob has six days to save Frankie's life or get him to change his wish.

The wish sets into motion a series of events that hold the readers interest all the way through the tale and you are definitely left wanting more. Luckily, it would seem that this is the first in a series featuring Jacob Duke, Lori and his dog Russ.