Book Review: Nightwalkers Chloe of the Night – Author Keith Kekic

Nightwalkers: Chloe of the Night

Nightwalkers: Chloe of the Night by Keith Kekic is the second novel in the “Nightwalkers” series. This novel is narrated by the main character from the first novel. In this book, however, our main character is an adult and is reflecting, into his notebook, visions he is having about the lives of Chloe as well as Sarah (both of whom were in the first novel). These visions reveal how Chloe became a Nightwalker and Sarah a member of Legion, including exactly what led up to their circumstances.

Chloe’s terrible life is spotlighted and we see just how bad things were for her before she joined the Nightwalkers. Her life begins with a father who took off when she was young and who only shows any concern for her by paying for her to go to private school. Her stepfather is even worse, as he is sexually exploitative of her and physically (as well as verbally) abusive. Chloe’s mother turns a blind eye on the abuse and sexual exploitation because she wants to keep her husband appeased. This causes Chloe to be introverted and to avoid others at school, besides Sarah that is.
Sarah, on the other hand, has an okay home life, aside from her father never being home, she does have a very caring mother. Sarah’s big problem is that she is the “fat girl” and so she receives a lot of negative attention at school; that is until a boy she likes takes an interest in her. She also feels overshadowed by Chloe who is jaw-droppingly beautiful and can get the attention of any boy she wishes.

The friendship between the two girls becomes strained as the man in the cloak plays on the resentment and insecurities of Sarah, a girl who already has many self-esteem issues. The two become set on the path that the narrator is already familiar with and he has to watch it unfold in these visions. Our narrator is still searching for what he had with the Nightwalkers; the love of Chloe, the closest friends imaginable, and a place to call home. He begins to walk in the night again, searching for these things. During these walks he meets up with a few old acquaintances, some new people, and some more seedy characters.

I liked the first novel very much but I have to say that I think I liked this one even more. Once I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. The story is just as well told as the first but the characters are a lot more familiar to me this time and I want to learn more about their lives. I was also eager to find out if our narrator finds his former friends and if they will accept him back into their group.

This story is packed with suspense, and will keep you turning the pages. By the end of this novel I felt like it was the end of an era, like I had known these people, as if they were my own friends and I had to bid them farewell. This novel was written with the knowledge of what it is to be a teenager with angst, insecurity, loneliness, and a deep need to “fit in”. These, “Nightwalkers”, books I would recommend as a great read for anyone but I feel that teens would find it very familiar and comforting.

I think each person that reads this novel, or the first one, would find themselves identifying with a specific character because there are so many well developed characters to choose from. I know I identified with a couple of the characters as I was reading. Because these characters were so dynamic, I actually cared about them, this is very necessary in capturing the attention of the reader; at least this is true in my opinion.
Being asked to review a novel by an author is a great honor and I have been very fortunate to get to read Mr. Kekic’s novels. Would I recommend this, as well as the other, novel to readers? YES! If you get the opportunity, pick up these novels; I just hope that they enjoy them as much as I have.

Nightwalkers Chloe of the Night – Author Keith Kekic