top of page
  • Youtube
  • TikTok
  • Facebook
  • Patreon
  • PayPal

At First Light Book Review

Blog and Video Description: In this episode of Matta Critic. I will be reviewing and analyzing the Book “At First Light” published by Thomas & Mercer and has the web address of www.apub.com which came in 2021. The author of this book is named Barbara Nickless. She is the author of the Sydney Rose Parnell series. I will give you my rating at the end of this episode. There are 4 different stories in this book. If you want to know more about this book, you want to read this blog or watch this video that is in this blog.



YouTube Video Description: In this episode of Matta Critic. I will be reviewing and analyzing the Book “At First Light” published by Thomas & Mercer and has the web address of www.apub.com which came in 2021. The author of this book is named Barbara Nickless. She is the author of the Sydney Rose Parnell series. I will give you my rating at the end of this episode. There are 4 different stories in this book. If you want to know more about this book, watch this video.


Hello everyone, welcome to the Matta critic. This is Matthew Hemenway. I have changed my brand from Matthew Hemenway to the Matta critic. Whether you followed me or not, I do detail reviews and analysis of books, movies, and TV shows. I will give you an honest overview of the texts that I review. I am more than qualified to do this. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from UNCC and a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. This makes me uniquely qualified to do this. Please consider checking out my Facebook page to get links and check out the posts from YouTube, TikTok and Patreon. I hope this video inspires you to read, watch, and learn. Speaking of the Facebook page, I will post coming soon videos there. I will also post them for YouTube in the community section of my channel.

In this episode of Matta Critic. I will be reviewing and analyzing the Book “At First Light” published by Thomas & Mercer and has the web address of www.apub.com which came in 2021. The author of this book is named Barbara Nickless. She is the author of the Sydney Rose Parnell series. I will give you my rating at the end of this episode. There are 4 different stories in this book. Now on with the review.

The book begins with Evan Wilding, a professor at the University of Chicago who is a semiotician. They help us understand words. I will read the definition of Semiotics from the Merriam-Webster website.

Shoot in a separate clip reading the definition of semiotics

Shoot the rest of review

The book starts with Evan Wilding in the Park with his hawk Ginny. When I started reading this book, it was after I was at the Carolina Renaissance Festival where I watched the art of Falconry. Evan wore the gloves he was supposed to wear. There are two police officers that come to get him at Detective Addie Bisset’s request. When Evan Wilding was not working as a professor at the University of Chicago, he was a consultant for the Chicago Police Department. The name of the officers that come to get him is named Blakesley. The other police officer that came to get Evan Wilding is named Sally Osborn.

Evan finds out from Addie Bisset and her partner Patrick McBrady that the first victim they find in this slew of murders is James Talfour. He has a set of wooden spikes with symbols and words on them. This is what is called a rune. A rune is an ancient poem that is told through symbols and words. Evan realizes that this is beyond his understanding. He realizes and Addie, his friend, that they need to get a runologist. They understand this and that individual will be an immense help in this.

Addie’s partner Patrick McBrady is superstitious and of Irish Descent. He believes that there are signs left around and they cannot be ignored. He is a good detective and a good partner to Addie. He has her back, and he is tall. He will also have Dr. Evan Wilding’s back as well.

Addie Bisset’s brother serves as Alderman for the city of Chicago. He lets her know that he hopes he can make a difference in how the city is run by being in it.

The plan of this serial killer who calls itself the Viking Poet. This killer is pulling from Norse Mythology and Beowulf. In Beowulf, after the hero kills Grendel, Grendel’s mother kills Beowulf. It is what is called a tragic hero story. The hero ends up dying at the end of the story to bring peace to the land that hero is protecting.

One of the killers believed is a man named Helskin. His name is craved in the runes left for the police to look at. The killer used bones in the first victim. The first victim’s name is Sam Desser. Sam Desser was found in a rural area outside the city of Chicago. A kid named Tommy found it. Yes, this means James Talfour was the second victim of this serial killer’s madness, not the first. It was also going to lead the police to a person who calls himself Raven, but his name is David Hayne.

There is a club called Ragnarök which means apocalypse which is what happened in the third Thor movie in the MCU. The owner of the club is believed to be a target of the Viking Poet in this book. There are also Viking cosplayers who are reenacting Viking culture in this book. They want to recreate the Viking culture. There are those who believe in that.

When the killer left the clue of Helskin, it was not revealing the identity of the killer. It was leaving a clue to the killer’s next victim. Helskin ends up dying and yes, the Viking Poet does kill him. The Chicago Police thought that Raven AKA David Hayne was the killer, but he is not.

The police get Ralph Rineheart, a well-known runolgist and has a podcast. A friend of Doctor Evan Wilding whose name is Simon runs a bookstore and knows of Ralph Rineheart’s reputation. It is believed that Ralph Rineheart is a scum bug. Simon told Evan that Ralph Rineheart is a deceitful person. When Evan is with his friend Simon, he meets Christina who helps Evan understand Norse mythology and Old English and the history of Beowulf. She helps him to understand the Viking culture which is important if the murders of the Viking Poet are going to be solved in this book.

Another key person in this book is Evan’s colleague whose name is Diana. Diana is Cajun and if you are asking is this a play of Princess Diana whose other name is Diana Prince and her superhero name is Wonder Woman. Yes, it would make sense. She throws an axe at the club at Ragnarök. This is a tough woman, and she will be critical in this book. She is smart, but tough. It also will play off the female Viking warriors known as Valkyries. Why is that significant? Valkryie has been in the third and fourth Thor movies and in Avengers: End Game.

The belief would be that there would be nine murders since there are nine realms in Norse mythology. The murderer only is planning 5 murders. The Viking Poet’s belief is that these people that he/she is killing have sinned against the Earth and must pay for their sins. The Viking Poet is acting like judge, jury, and executioner. The murderer loses his/her mother to cancer and loses his/her child as well. This is the tipping point to becoming a psychopath.

As not be revealed anymore, nothing more will be revealed here. It does bring the reader to the climax of this story and will set up the second book of this series based on Dr. Evan Wilding.

I will now give you, my rating. I give “At First Light, Dr Evan Wilding Book one,” a 10 out of 10. It was fun and keeps the reader guessing. It moves very quickly as it is a plus if a reader likes fast books. It is extremely complicated. The plot is very convoluted and keeps the reader guessing. It does an excellent job of helping the reader to understand the meaning of these words and it does an excellent job of pulling from old Norse mythology and old English poetry. The poems are riddles and this reminds the reader of the Riddler from the old Bat Man TV show that came out in the 1960’s that was done by 20th Century Fox. In a scene in this book, the villain says, "Riddle me this.” This is how the Riddler in the 1960’s Bat Man TV show said that. He would have said, “Riddle me this Bat Man.” Watch the old 1960’s Bat Man TV show and find the episodes of the Riddler. Also watch the movie based on the TV series. There will be a link to that movie and series at the bottom of this video. It is good that this book does come with an audio version and if a person travels that is a plus.

Shoot in another clip

Please go to www.mattacritic.com and check out my website and you will find links on there to other sites such PayPal, Patreon, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. The store is now live, if you want to buy merchandise to help support the channel and to buy gifts for your loved ones for Christmas. Thank you.

Shoot in another clip

Please check out my playlist review of Books by clicking this link right now. Thank you.

Please subscribe to my channel. Please like this video if you find it helpful. Please hit the notification bell to be notified of any videos. Please let me know what you would like me to cover down the road in the comment section below. Please share this video with anyone you know. Thank you for reading and watching. Remember, do not forget to read, watch, and learn.

Thank you for reading this blog, please consider supporting this independent source of reviews by making a PayPal donation, going to https://www.mattacritic.com/shop and buy merchandise to help support it. If you do not want to do that, please consider becoming a patron by going to www.patreon.com/mattacritic and help support me there. You can also go to www.youtube.com/@mattacritic and sign up for YouTube memberships by hitting the join button that is in the channel section there or at the bottom of the YouTube video if you choose to watch the YouTube video that is included in this blog. Thank you.

Music: A Day to Remember and No Filter Trap from Microsoft's Clipchamp Video Editor

Description: Book Review and Analysis of At Frist Light

Reference: The meaning of Semiotics: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semiotics

My website: www.mattacritic.com

YouTube Memberships Only Videos: Members-only videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUMORbJ-57dKV-AmWeaJDd5ZoQ&v=HRciO4l7OJ4&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fword-edit.officeapps.live.com%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt


7 views0 comments
bottom of page