Shadows Inquiries #2
Lyn Benedict aka Lane Robins
Urban Fantasy/2010
***** (5 out of 6 stars)
Cover - I like the cover - the Miami skyline, the lavender hue, the gun in her hand, and the kind of pissed off look on the woman's face. Doesn't she look ready to shoot the next person to irritate her?
If you've read Sins and Shadows, then you know that the main character - Sylvie - can be a bit of a cranky person. In the last book, I enjoyed her inner seething rage. It was kind of constant, she was so pissed off most of the book. In this book, she came across a little more sullen than angry. Not sure if I really liked that part, but the story itself was good - a good plot, a good narration, good dialogue and some suspenseful scenes with creep factors.
Sylvie's sister, Zoe, has been in a bit of trouble and she gets dumped on Sylvie's watch while her parents take off on a trip. Of course, Zoe disappears - she's a rebellious teen with some sinister associations as well as the same blood in her veins that has Sylvie hearing those dark, snarky thoughts. While this is happening, Sylvie has been having money problems (all the urban fantasy heroines who work for a living seem to have money problems - so do I, lots of money problems. I might feel like reading about people without money problems, but then again - I don't want to read about filthy rich people either. hard to please, that's me) so her office manager/assistant forces her to take a simple case that turns out to be not so simple. All the businesses around the area have been robbed without any signs of forced entry, and no witnesses.
AND .... a cop comes to her from Chicago, setting of her last traumatic snafu case where she had to fight gods and the furies of Greek legends. Chicago is still recovering from this event. Turns out this particular cop, Wright, was killed and brought back to life (yeay for CPR), only he doesn't seem to feel himself. He has a passenger on board....a haunt....
The book was well written, the story was a good story and the cases were interesting. The problems that Sylvie has been having with the local police, however, hinder her investigations and she has been being harassed by them. And kind of behaving in a harassed sullen young adult type of way. At least there was no posturing a la Blake happening here; so uber-sensitive to that type of posturing since reading a few of those endless posturing episodes. Because of the reason for their harassment, she gets a little sullen, but she also seems to have a bit of patience for it, understanding the reason and accepting the situations.
There is something in the ending that seemed a bit too convenient - but author's choice; and while it was so very convenient, the reaction from Sylvie wasn't exactly welcoming, it was more critical and "this is not a good thing". The bottom line is that I'm glad I read Ghosts and Echoes and I enjoyed the book, very much. This is a good story, again, with believable dialogue and characters. The cases were solved one way or another, and we've gotten a taste of Zoe, Sylvie's little sister. Even though she was a total teen brat in this novel, seeming to care about nothing but her own wants and needs, she did seem to show signs of hidden depths, possibilities of growth, etc. Promising, and could be an interesting secondary character addition to the series. I have the next in the series waiting for me on the shelf. I believe there are even more in the series waiting for me at the bookstores.
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| Shadows Inquiries #1 |
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| Shadows Inquiries #2 |
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| Shadows Inquiries #3 |
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| Shadows Inquiries #4 |
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