Blood Defense

Wow! What a great debut for a new series! I'm already anxious for the second book to come out! This book follows no dated, plodding or formulaic template you see imposed on so many novels in this genre - “Guess which room Colonel Mustard will be in by what page with which weapon by which page and then expect the twist by page...?” Nope. Nor has the only work in this book gone into a Cirque du Soleil contriving of the most contorted = shocking premise ever put on the written page. Instead, it's a simple crime whose solution isn't so simple because of the players, secrets and agendas involved in its solving. The cast is richly compelling, characters who, again, defy stereotyping... they've lived in the world and they're damaged, (and not in the dated, expected ways) and while they don't always do the right thing, they do indeed get the job done. The voicing is fresh and unique, the characters intriguing, complex and compelling and while the pacing is fast and the read filled with twists and turns, the reader is never cheated as everything is earned in its own twisted and unexpected way.