The enchanto by Arthur Swan.
An ancient Mayan artifact, smuggled into Los Angeles, unexpectedly alters three lives in bizarre ways.
Gray, an aspiring artist struggling to provide for his family, Claire, his insomniac wife, and Ashley York, a wealthy socialite striving to make it as a real actress, find their paths crashing together, their dreams and their very identities threatened.
Meanwhile, Saul Parker, a detective and hobbyist magician who is self-conscious about his weight, strives to solve a strange case that seems impossible to comprehend.
Only Wayob, a mysterious chameleon-like killer, has a grasp on the dangerous power that has consumed his life and now infiltrates the others.
A very good read with good characters. Little slow but readable. 4*.

That was a bit of a muddle really. I think I can see what the author was trying to do but it missed the mark a bit.

The story starts with Evan York, a super rich guy, on the trail of a Mayan artefact of immense power, but we’re not quite sure what it does. He finally gets hold of the artefact and is about to test it’s powers when the plot changes direction and we never really hear from Evan again.

Then there is a series of mystifying violent deaths and every time the police catch a perpetrator they claim to be someone called Wayob. There is a bit of humour in the story though. Other characters that we get to know include Gray (I forget his surname) who works as a software writer and hates it. He really wants to be an artist. His wife, Claire is beyond exhausted and feels trapped at home with two young children.

Ashley York, Evan’s daughter is a socialite who wants to be a serious actress but is not taken seriously. The two police detectives on the case are also well developed characters. Sean Parker, good detective, nice guy, solid and oh so overweight secretly crushes on his partner Hernandez who is not overweight. He is constantly embarrassed by his size but does she even care?

These characters are all thrown into turmoil as the artefact, the Encanto, does it’s thing. In the process they all learn a lot about themselves, how others see them and what is important in life. So the ‘messages’ if you like were good and, as I mentioned, there were moments of humour but I couldn’t quite get into this one. There may be sequels and it the author can tighten up the delivery they could be a lot better. Many thanks to the author via Netgalley for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

3.5 stars rounded down.