I've enjoyed Laurell Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, but I've never wanted to list her as a favorite author. This book has me thrilled to tell people that she's written a book that doesn't take her work in a completely new direction, but close enough.

She takes on a lead character who's a male police detective and is a genuinely good person, and he's believable (I can't say relatable, because I'm not male so I don't now how they think). So far he's not a Gary Sue though he does come close to being too good to be true. I hope this is part of the Divine's plan and not a flaw in Hamilton's writing.

There's no sex in this book, though the case he works on in this story involves the rape and murder of some college women. What's different from Hamilton's other books is that this violence isn't something the reader witnesses as you would in a Merry Gentry novel. The crime scene he visits isn't described graphically because it isn't needed to make this story work. It's satisfying and enjoyable because when you do witness is the important stuff.

There's an enthralling plot line that I can't wait for her to expand on in the next book in the series. It involves Angels, Deities, Demons, Witches, Voodoo Priests, and a school where the detective learned to be an Angel-Speaker and later deserted, which leaves lots of questions about the school–and about Angels.

A book I couldn't put down. I recommend it to anyone open to reading a detective/fantasy/horror novel involving many belief systems and a cast of characters that you'll want to get to know better.

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Created Jan 23, 2024 at 9:11pm • Submit your own review...