Author: Kenya Wright
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: Oversize paperback, 276
Published: 2012
Publisher: Dragonfairy Press LLC
ISBN: 978-0-9850230-0-3
Author Links: Website ♠ Twitter
Opening Lines: "I race past the university's gates, splashing water onto homeless Vampires. The campus security Trolls would've caught me if I were Human."
"Since the 1970s Humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon or Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by Humans.
"Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. Al she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment.
"Enlisting help from her Were-cheetash ex-boyfriend MeShack and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat's raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention.
"While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left to wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?"
~Jacket copy
Thoughts: The back of this book reminded me of the restrictions that were put on costumed heroes in The Watchmen and several other comic books. The concept of supernaturals being forced to live in pseudo-ghettos, sequestered away from the regular population was very intriguing to me. Add to that a serial killer, and we have ourselves a winner!
The writing style of this book grabbed me from the beginning. It is simple; however, it does not lack in substance. Wright is able to translate complex emotions in a simple and beautiful way. And, honestly, she has quite a way with words.
The characters and the setting of this book are very rich. Even though we focus on a few main characters, Wright did a good job of adding enough depth to the extras to flesh out the story. Even though I did not know some of the other characters, I got the sense that they also had a rich background. In terms of the main characters, I love the little quirks she gives them. Lanore's continuous theft, MeShack's insatiable lust, to name a few, added a new dimension to the characters.
Wright does a wonderful job with the murder mystery. I felt that she did a good job thinking about the motivation behind the killings, who she would kill, how the crime scenes were staged, etc. While I figured out the identity of the killer fairly quickly, once the tidbits were given, I thought she did a beautiful job keeping the audience int he dark. Once the killer is identified, it is a revelation.
The book had perfect pacing. The plot, dialogue, and character development were not forced. I found the book extremely hard to put down.
Rating:
Currently: Car Theif by Theodore Weesner and 50 Shades Darker by E.L. James
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