J.L. Murray

Surprisingly fun! Niki Slambodian is a detective of sorts who has just received a second chance – her name off the blacklisted registry, a new employer who pays big, and a chance to tie up loose ends about a mystery with her criminal father. Of course it’s all life and death while figuring out how capture a homicidal Dark that’s escaped from Hell and is tied in with her imprisoned father.

Being able to see ghosts is fascinating, but the book does little with this ability. The ghosts show more can’t communicate with actual conversation, but more of a desperate groaning and reaching. If anything they seem to be an annoyance to Niki and she doesn’t come across particularly compassionate, although I guess you would get hardened over the situation eventually.

I don’t find Sam particularly fascinating yet, but he’s intriguing enough to exist as a mysterious boss and unknown paranormal. I loved the new partner she gets paired with, and Eli as the ex who is discovering new things about himself while finding out Niki’s secrets added another personal layer. Loved the ending with her father and their complicated relationship.

Pure Urban Fantasy because of the paranormal elements involved, it’s as much a detective story. Niki being a complex character with a strong history left to be discovered made her an interesting person to be in the head of, and the pacing of the short novel made it a quick read. The ending was a mega-battle that flowed well and wrapped up one creepy story, but left plenty more possibilities to come with future stories. show less

“Oh, Niki, we know you can't help it. But you're like a bull that goes into a china shop, blows everyone away, breaks all the china, and then kicks all the bodies for good measure.”

Unfortunately my interest in continuing this series is now nil. I dug the first, and while the second wasn’t quite as good, I still enjoyed it – but this one? All tastes lost.

Niki has returned from the dead, and when I say she’s changed, that’s an extreme understatement. The book’s storyline took an show more interesting story that was focused on a woman’s personal journey and discovery with her family and paranormal town and the third then exploded it into an apocalyptic, world-wide adventure overnight. A serious literal war already with angels and demons, visits to Hell and purgatory, visits to the angelic city, meeting ‘The Creator’, seriously – so much in this story all of a sudden.

The book got way out there and outlandish with the storyline so it was hard to stay centered on it – still, it would have been a three star if it didn’t depress and people me off with two losses in the end. Both of these change the entire direction and focus of the series up until this point – in fact, they were the most interesting elements in the three books, so getting rid of both of these and leaving me with the rest of the story (which went direction I didn’t want anyway) drained my interest and put me in a bad mood for a few hours.

The large changes in the direction of the story and world-building kind of buried characterization. Niki seems somewhat flatter – maybe because she doesn’t even have time to breathe? – Eli is unrecognizable and went in a completely different direction. Niki frustrated me since just isn’t that bright – I grew as exasperated with her as Sam did since she wants to, against logic, run into situations and risk others without thinking it through based on a pure adrenaline of emotion. Since this is the way the author intended the story to go, the author makes it worth the benefit of the character, but in reality this wouldn’t happen and just left me aggravated!

With the pacing so rushed and the story so outlandish, it came off rather cheesy. A shame, but I’m happy at this point I already picked up the first three. show less

If you like post-apocalyptic zombie tales this one, if not terribly original*, is competently told with a quite likeable protagonist. The romance also managed to stay sufficiently subordinated to outside events to avoid tripping my (fairly sensitive) cheese-o-meter.

* Think The Passage with some "vegetarian" zombies, IMO it's pulled off reasonably well here, but some people may have grown altogether allergic to the pattern and prefer their monsters in their original unadulterated, zero-angst, show more totally inhuman form. show less

The first book impressed me with its different approach on a down-to-earth but take no prisoners heroine, intriguing paranormal blacklisting system, and mysterious boss. The second isn’t quite as good as the first but it was still a fun, quick read. If you enjoy Urban Fantasies that are a bit over the top and quick to fly through, I recommend trying this one on for size.

Action is as intense and there’s plenty to keep the pace strong, but the sequel promises a bloodier time and higher show more body count. Niki takes a walk on the darker side and doesn’t shy away from becoming a violent avenger. Niki discovers more about her father and the dangerous organization that stands as the true enemy, says goodbye to a long-time friend, and discovers new hidden family. Enter Angelwine, an addictive and illegal substance that drains angels dry and turns minds mad.

Relationship wise we get more of Sam and discover what he is – a little misleading from the titles of the series and doesn’t make full sense. There’s plenty left about their connection that is vague and left for other series books. Eli isn’t already much but there’s plenty of page time for Niki to interact with other enjoyable characters, and villains take stick to the black shades rather than the multi-dimensional gray.

Reading the first book to understand this sequel and care about what’s going on is a necessity before touching this one. The fast pace and over-the-top adventures make it a quick read, even if it’s not anything shockingly new. There’s clearly a lot that’s leading up to bigger and more world-changing story-lines. show less