The Return: Book 3 of The Vessels Series by Anna Elias
Anna M. Elias is back with the thrilling third installment of The Vessels series. In The Return, the Vessels are once again in peril. With a deadly spirit threatening to make a return to the living realm, Link’s freedom is compromised and the program is under attack — the Vessels must work together to save humankind. But, saving the world may take some help from a new Spirit Guard — one who can return the evil spirit to where it came from.
A Deadly Spirit on the Loose
When we left the Vessels in Elias’s second book, The Coin (read my review here!), the rogue, evil spirit of Eric Bonner was threatening to make his way back to the living realm through the Vessels program. If you didn’t read the last book, the Vessels program allows participants to serve as human hosts for spirits to return to the living world in order to right their past wrongs.
The evil Eric Bonner baits a young woman, persuading her to become his Vessel in order to make his way closer to Ron Galt, Nevada’s Governor who is the son of Sam, a man with close ties to the Vessels program.
Both equally hungry for power, wealth and revenge, Eric’s partnership will help Ron win his election and help Eric seek revenge on the woman who killed him. But as this dangerous pair moves further into their evil plan, Ron begins to realize that “the lines were becoming more and more blurred between vessel and spirit, and [he] wondered how long it would take before his life was no longer his own.”
A Personal Journey for Each Vessel and Spirit Guard
The Vessels are not only working hard to save their program from Eric’s rogue spirit, but are also embarking on their own personal journeys in The Return.
We jump into the lives of the Vessels with the opening perspective of Tal, who readers will remember from previous books. After facing her own death in The Coin, she hopes to continue to contribute to the Vessels program by becoming Spirit Guard. But in order to do so, she must “shed [her] last remnant of humanity,” and forgive the man who killed her: Tucker, a former colleague from her days on the police force. It will take more than just a simple “I forgive you” from Tal. Throughout the book, we watch as she revisits the past to find forgiveness in her heart and return to the Vessels program as Spirit Guard.
Link is still on the run from the police after being accused of killing a young boy, Trevor. But, he wonders, what if he could prove his innocence? What if he could find the bullet that supposedly killed Trevor? What if he could prove that it was not him? We follow Link as he devises a plan to find the bullet and prove his innocence.
Malina, Sam’s granddaughter, is just as desperate to become a Vessel as she was in The Coin. After Malina’s mother dragged her from her home and to Sam’s Vessels program, Malina wants to feel a sense of purpose, which she knows she will achieve if she becomes a Vessel. But she makes the mistake of taking on the role of a Vessel for Eric’s evil spirit. And the events of the story unfold in edge-of-your-seat suspense.
An Interesting Perspective on Death, Grief and Forgiveness
Vessels are the links between the realm of the living and the dead, and as a result of their journeys with their spirits, they gain some interesting perspectives on death, grief and forgiveness. Through her gripping language, Elias crafts a story that is both action-packed and full of emotion. We particularly experience the complexities of love, loss and grief in Elias’s story through Tal’s perspective.
“Tal missed being a vessel. She missed being alive, actually. But she was happy to be the one who had transitioned instead of the one left behind to mourn again…” Having experienced loss — the loss of her best friend, of her husband and of her son — there is a sense of relief in the fact that she is the one leaving the living realm this time. And, she is given the opportunity to continue to help the Vessels program by becoming Spirit Guard.
Thrilling, action-packed, suspenseful and emotional, The Return will have readers flying through the pages. As Tal returns to help Sam and the Vessels stop Ron and rid the world of Eric’s deadly spirit once and for all and save the fate of the Vessels program, a battle will ensue between father and son. Sam and Ron will be pitted against one another, and only one can survive. Who will it be?
Anna M. Elias graduated from the University of Florida and began her career as Don Johnson’s assistant on the TV series, Miami Vice. She worked in production for years on feature films like Nell, 12 Monkeys, A Time to Kill, Practical Magic and My Dog Skip before turning her hand to screenwriting. She has written many films and TV scripts, paid indie assignments, short films and a book adaption with and for a legendary actor. The Vessels marks Anna’s debut novel series.
Anna’s passion for justice is integral to her writing. She loves to create entertaining and inspiring stories for stage and screen where her diverse, underdog characters defy the odds and buck the system for unexpected impact and change.
Author’s Note: The Vessels Series of books came to me as a bit of divine inspiration. I didn’t know whether to run or write, so I wrote, and here we are. These books are fun and entertaining for sure, so read them for that if you’d like. But — they can also offer a way to mend, heal and move on in healthy ways from those relationships that have hurt us or others in some way. I hope you enjoy the read…
