Category: Vampires

Review of The Night Shift by Missouri Dalton

Revised Rating: 4.25 stars on 6/10/2013

So, here it is Mea Culpa time.  I just finished reading, out of order again, the other two books in this series and now have to revise my rating upward.  I think what irritated me so much about this book was that it showed so much promise, that the characters were able to hit home even as they dangled in the atmosphere so to speak, that I took it to heart that it felt incomplete.   I get emotional about  stories and authors that resonate with me for some reason, and this author and book did.

After finishing The Hellfire Legacy, I knew that I had made a mistake.  The author had a sensational series on her hand and I blew it by reading them  out of order.  Taken together and read, 1-2-3, they are spectacular and one of my favorite series of the year.  But they must be read in sequence as only the first book could be considered a stand alone.

If you read this book as I did (out of sequence), then the review holds up.  It really does seem to be floating around, cut loose from it’s mooring and adrift without a map.  But the characters I fell in love with in The Hanged Man’s Ghost (Night Wars #1) and were firmly addicted to by The Hellfire Legacy (Night Wars #3)  are all here, but just as cut loose from their foundations as was the book.  It is my opinion that each and every book should contain the same elements, regardless of whether they are a part of a series or to be read by itself.  Considering how necessary the first book is to ground the characters with their history and relationship circumstances, I still believe it  even more important that some of that narrative needs to be included in the next book in the series. This helps readers remember particular plot points and connections between events and characters, especially if there is a long time between publication dates.

So with the first and third books fully in mind, I found myself nodding in appreciation over aspects of character development here and how certain events further along the overall series objectives.  I really liked this story while agreeing with my original assessment that it needed further  exposition and background support.

I love this series and think you will too.  But again, read them as the author intended, starting with The Hanged Man’s Ghost and continuing on. This series will delight you even while sending chills down your spine and whiten your knuckles.  Continue through to The Hellfire Legacy.  I hope the author has much more ahead for us.  I, for one, am looking forward to it.

Rating: 2.75 stars

Flynn Adder, husband to Jack, father to Tara, former addict, has been assigned a new partner, Simon, to train.  Simon is young, troubled and the son of a mob boss in the city.  Flynn, in trouble with his  boss, has a large case load at their Agency which handles cases dealing with the supernatural elements in town, the werewolves, the vampires, necromancers, trolls and more. It’s his daughter’s birthday. So just as Flynn is coordinating her party, he and Simon get thrown a gruesome case.  A young boy is found dead and all the evidence points to a new necromancer in town.  As Flynn, Simon and the rest of the investigators of the Unit work to gather clues, another boy is killed and it looks as though the necromancer is also working with a vampire but to what end?  The race is on to find out who the necromancer is and stop them before more children die.  If that wasn’t enough, someone is stealing mystical objects from the evidence vault to sell on the black market.  It has to be a inside job and suspicion is falling on Simon.  It’s enough to shake Flynn loose from his sobriety if things aren’t solved soon on The Night Shift.

This will be a short review.  When learning the basics of writing, one things we are all taught is that whether it is a short story or novel, there is a structure to be followed, there is a beginning, a middle and an end.  And each part has a distinct purpose.  The beginning is where the author introduces the main characters, the setting, the goals, and any conflict.  The middle is where a series of events happen. This is also where the characters grow as they deal with the conflicts within the story.  While some elements of the story are resolved the story “continues in the direction of a major crisis, or climax.”* And finally, the end where the storyline is resolved, any conflicts or loose ends tied up, and the reader is left satisfied by a well told tale.  Up until now, all the stories I have reviewed or read have followed those rules.

Missouri Dalton in The Night Shift totally disregards the basic tenants of writing in my opinion.  Here, the novel starts in the middle.  I have no backstory on any of the main characters, only able to glean what I could a little at a time.  Flynn is an addict, his husband Jack used to be his partner, they have a daughter.  Supernatural creatures are a common element in society.  Flynn has some background with Simon that we are supposed to know about but don’t.  Simon has a backstory we are supposed to be familiar with but aren’t.  And we are left totally in the dark about the Agency they all work for.   Flynn has a twin brother, Michael, who is dead but alive (living corpse? who knows?).  Michael tried to commit suicide which left him brain damaged but he is also schizophrenic and possessive of his brother.  I think he was dead and then tried to kill himself again and was hospitalized but  I really am not sure of anything here.  It is all middle ground.  There are some nice elements buried in the reader’s confusion and shear bafflement over the storyline and characterizations.  It all could have been resolved with a beginning that is desperately needed.

So no beginning, a promising but confusing middle and here is the real problem.  Absolutely no ending, just a cliffhanger.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It leaves an already confused reader hanging with a cliffhanger and does not resolve the story.  I just find that so unprofessional. Now I know of several authors who write these wonderful serial free stories on their blogs and websites.  And that is great and I have enjoyed them immensely.  But The Night Shift is a novel that you are expected to buy at $6.99!  If I had purchased this book at that price, I would be clamoring for my money back.

I will leave you all with this final thought.  If you like Missouri Dalton’s fiction and want to read this book, wait!  Make sure there is a sequel, although given the way this was handled, I don’t know that I would trust that book to be resolved at the end either. Or if you like cliffhangers and don’t care if you never find out what happens to the main character, then go ahead and read this.  I promise you the frustration you seek.  As for me, I am totally done here.

Cover:  Nice cover by Alessio Brio, the 2nd cover by the artist that I have seen.

Review: Adapting Instincts (Instincts #4) by S.J. Frost

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Adapting InstinctsZoologist and primate specialist Carl Anderson’s thoughts are consumed by one man and one kiss whose message remains unclear to Carl.  And it is not just the kiss that has unsettled his life, but  the fact that the man who kissed him was a vampire, one of many who live all around him hidden to most of human society.  This fact was revealed to Carl through events involving his best friend Andreas Nikandros and his vampire lover Titus Antonius Calidus (Loving Instincts).  Those events saw Carl caught between the vampires and the vampire hunters, including another of Carl’s friends, Matthew.  At one point Carl and Andreas were threatened with death and one of Carl’s rescuers was the vampire warrior, Egill Dalgaard.

Egill Dalgaard.  Viking warrior and member of vampire society’s ruling body, the Tribunal, is used to having complete control of his life but one special human has upset his calm and ordered existence.  Egill cannot get Carl Anderson out of his thoughts since he first met the human and helped save his life.  And that one kiss has insured Carl’s place in Egill’s nightly dreams.  There are so many reasons why a continued association with Carl is ill advised and just one reason to do so.  Egill hasn’t felt this way about someone in a very long time, and for that reason alone Egill cannot let this human go.

Carl’s thoughts are still so divided and upset.  There is Matthew, mixed up with the vampire hunters, on one side and Egill Dalgaard, viking vampire on the other.  Carl’s life is now full of fearful glances at the dark, and longing too.  But the vampire hunters are still out there , posing a threat to Carl, Andreas, and the vampires Carl has come to know and respect. Any relationship Carl and Egill might have will be threatened by a variety of forces all around them, including the Tribunal.  Carl has always been afraid of confrontation, but if he wants Egill in his life, then he must decide on which path to take, including one that will take him away from his humanity.

Adapting Instincts is the fourth book in the Instincts series by S.J. Frost, a series that shows continues to deliver wonderful characters and a deepening overall story arch that runs through the entire series to date.  In this latest installation, all of our favorite couples are back and fully involved in this book’s narrative.  We have the original couple of Andreas Nikandros (now a vampire himself) and his eternal partner Titus Antonius Calidus,  Vampire Samurai Ryunosuke Kimura and his vampire lover Daniel Valente (my favorite couple) and now brought into the center are viking vampire Egill Dalgaard and human Carl Anderson, friend and former coworker of Andreas Nikandros.

Adapting Instincts picks up three months after that last events of Loving Instincts (Instincts #3), events that have left reverberations through all the lives of those involved, human and vampire alike.  One of the strengths of S.J. Frost’s writing is her wonderful world building and complex narrative.  While each book normally revolves around one main couple and their romance, multiple plot threads and characters weave themselves throughout the romantic relationship, acting not only as a foundation but as the perpetuator that lends the story momentum and depth. Coexisting with the daily conflicts that arise with being a human, Frost contrasts that with the rigid societal structure of the vampire world.  It makes for a fascinating and absolutely addicting read to see how the two worlds will not only collide but continue to mesh as vampires and humans interact.  The first three books are full of conflict and harrowing events for all the couples involved, so it makes  sense for the fourth book to deal with the aftermath and emotional letdown.  With two exceptions, most of this story concentrates on relationship issues, those between Carl and Egill.  And while that choice simplifies the storyline, it also carries with it a more lightly layered plot as well, lacking the depth and complexity of those books that precedes it.

After the emotional events, that is a very realistic way of dealing with the aftermath of the kidnappings and near death experiences of book 3.  I really enjoy the character of Egill, former viking warrior and formidable vampire lord.  Stolid and controlled, it is lovely to watch such a character react to love entering his life after such a long existence.  Frost does a great job with Egill’s personality, making him both realistically regal and yet vulnerable too in his tightly controlled mien.  Carl, on the other hand, felt a little too passive for me to connect with.  True, he has a poor self image and his need to avoid conflict puts himself and others in terrible situations. It is hard to connect with a character that you want to give a shake to most of the time.  Carl’s indecisiveness is just unattractive to me so it helped immensely that Frost gave us Davy, the Black-headed Spider Monkey.  Davy, along with all the other marvelous animal characters in this series, adds a touch of humor and endearment just when the story needs it the most.  By seeing Carl’s relationship with Davy, it helps connect us to a character that lacks some of the vivid personality traits of the others in the series.  I loved Davy and hope that the author will bring him back into the series somewhere down the line just as she did with Dakarai, Andreas’ lion, and all the other animals who a such a delight in the series.  Here is your first introduction to Davy:

Carl stopped outside the habitat for the spider monkeys. He released the cart’s handles to place his hands on his hips, fixing Davy with a disapproving look. “Really? Is that necessary?”

Davy quit banging the bowl on the mesh and stared up at him with intelligent black eyes.

Carl swore the monkey was trying to play innocent. A smile broke over his lips despite trying to stay stern. It was all Davy needed. The monkey scurried up the mesh to be at eye level with him, reaching through with his left hand, the one missing the index finger. Carl held a finger toward him, and Davy wrapped his others around it. The warm, soft leathery feel of Davy’s palm made him grateful he’d been able to save the monkey’s hand. When Davy and the others came to the zoo, starved and sick from the poor care they’d received in a backyard zoo—or deathtrap, as he called it—Davy’s hand was so infected from a baboon biting his finger off, he didn’t know if he’d be able to save it. But he had, and after months of diligent care, Davy and his brothers were healthy and sassy.

The interplay between man and monkey is telling.  It is humorous, affectionate, and clearly a wonderful relationship.  Even when you are fed up with Carl’s dithering about, moments like this will keep the reader invested in his character and his future.

Is this book a stand alone?  No, it must be read as part of the series and in the order they were written, otherwise key elements will be lost or misconstrued.  I love this series and absolutely recommend it.  Start at the beginning and work your way through.  Instincts shows no hint of slowing down, as new characters are introduced here as well as persons left over from the last book such as Matthew.  And the fact that all the other beloved characters will be there as well is just the icing on the cake.  If you are already invested in this series, I guarantee you will enjoy this book too.  Adapting Instincts (Instincts #4) carries the main plot thread forward while satisfying us with another romance completed.  Great job, great story, wonderful series.

Here they are in the order they were written and should be read:

Natural Instincts (Instincts #1)

Enduring Instincts (Instincts #2)

Loving Instincts (Instincts #3)

Adapting Instincts (Instincts #4)

Cover art by Winterheart Designs is evocative in design and tone.  I thought the two landscapes a nice touch.

ebook, 210 pages
Published March 14th 2013 by MLR Press
ISBN 1020130040
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=SJF_ADIN
seriesI

Review: The Hellfire Legacy (The Night Wars #3) by Missouri Dalton

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Hellfire Legacy coverWith one horrific explosion, psychic Investigator Flynn Adder’s world turns to rubble and the lives of everyone Flynn loves is put in the greatest peril he has ever known.  And that is saying a lot, considering that Flynn Adder works for The Night Shift, a secret paranormal agency that keeps the lid on the activities of the weird, supernatural and Fae. From werewolves to ghouls to trolls as well as all magical objects,  they all fall under the jurisdiction of The Night Shift, a world wide organization created to keep humans safe and oblivious to the magical and mythical beings all around them.

But the Chicago Night Shift headquarters has just exploded, killing most of the psych corps, witches, and other beings that made up the Chicago squad.  Only a few escaped, including Flynn, his husband Jack and a few of their colleagues.  With the supernatural side of Chicago now left to their own devices and impulses,the City is helpless and defenseless. Added to the conflagration,  the murderous culprit is on the loose and soon strikes again. Flynn, Jack, and the rest need help in order to survive and hunt down the person responsible for killing so many of their friends and colleagues.   When the investigation start to lead back to Flynn and his family history,  Flynn starts to realize that this case might cost him everything he has worked so hard to achieve, his sobriety, his lover, and their family.

Well, this was a surprise.  I loved this book and the entire Night Shift crew.  The Hellfire Legacy is the third (and possibly last) book in The Night Wars series by Missouri Dalton.  I had reviewed book #2, The Night Shift and found it wanting, primarily due to the last of back history and its cliffhanger ending.  This book displays none of the issues I had with The Night Shift, and while it is part of a series, I found that this book could be read as a standalone and totally enjoyed as such.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Let’s go back and look at the exposition of histories and backstories of the characters and events as related in The Hellfire Legacy.

Missouri Dalton has done a remarkable job of folding the back stories of the characters with the history of The Night Shift agency into the current storyline in such a way that the reader will feel absolutely up to date on all prior events that occurred in the previous books without actually having to go read them.  I missed this element in The Night Shift and was thrilled to see a much more substantial world building here.  In fact the entire book is more complete, more layered in every aspect.  The storytelling is taut, the action suspenseful and fast moving, and the emotional content will keep the reader on a constant level of high expectations and excitement.

Even the characters seem more fully alive and have more depth than I remember from the previous story.  Flynn, Jack, Simon, Howl, and the rest are all put to the test are they become not only the hunters but the hunted as well.  Flynn’s personality and character is under such duress that his sobriety is threatened as is his stability to act as an investigator.  He is operating on no sleep, pain medication and shear desperation and the author makes us feel every bit of his anxiety and exhaustion as Flynn stretches his physical and emotional resources to their limits. Really, the vivid descriptions of each character and their actions not only help to engage the reader but to bring the story home to a deeply emotional level because we have come to care for them all.  In addition, we are given new characters to connect with that hopefully we will see again in future stories because they are that interesting and quirky.  I loved Lu and the vulpe Remy and Granda Adder, a ghost.  In fact we get more of everyone’s history, the Adders, Jack’s, and more.  It’s wonderful, it’s fascinating and it makes the reader want to learn even more.

The locales from Chicago to Ireland are given the same attention to detail and depth that the characters display. Moving the setting from their home base of Chicago to various locations serves to keep not only the characters off center and uncertain but the reader as well.  Each new city brings an uncertainty and anxiety to the plot while heightening our interest in each area.  I loved this aspect of the novel too.  Dalton’s research and knowledge of each location shows.  Clearly, the author knows Columbus, Ohio and the Columbus College of Art and Design.  Here is an excerpt from Flynn’s travels to Ohio:

“Fynn, that’s the third time we’ve passed that giant red A.” “It’s says art,” Simon corrected Jack. “Why is there so much construction around here anyway?”

“Who knows?” Jack said. I gritted my teeth and pulled over into the road the giant letter A straddled. Oh, it did say art. Huh. “Okay. Simon, Lu, you look young and college-ish, go get directions.” We appeared to be on a college campus — an art school given the giant sign and random pieces of modern sculpture. The two gave me a look. “Sure thing, boss,” Simon replied. “Come on, Lu.” They got out of the van and started for the largest, closest building. It was concrete, modern, and possibly the ugliest piece of construction I’d ever seen. I looked away before it burned into my memory. There were two churches within sight, and a few more ugly concrete and glass buildings.

Simon and Lu quickly returned with a very short-haired, svelte girl in tow. She reminded me a bit of a pixie. I rolled down my window. “Well?”

“Fynn, this is Liz. Liz, Fynn. She’s got directions for you.”

“Awesome.”

Liz smiled. “So you’ll want to get back on Broad Street and go West to 315 North, that’ll take you right to the Kinnear road exit. That should get you out of the construction.”

“Sweet, simple and easy to remember, thanks, Liz. You’ve been a big help.”

“No problem, happy to help.” Lu and Simon got back in the car, we bid goodbye to Liz and took her directions — and finally ended up in the right place.

In case you were wondering, here the giant A they were talking about   The author is spot on and accurate in every detail.  I loved this aspect of Columbus, Ohio artinspringThe Hellfire Legacy and appreciated the richness of detail the authors adds to each scenery change.

The story is told from Flynn’s point of view and I like his dry, sarcastic voice.  Here is a example:

I noticed immediately that we might have a slight problem. The language I overheard most frequently was Gaelic, something I had only passing familiarity with. I mean, I once knit Connor an illusion scarf that read Pog Ma Thon, but beyond telling people to kiss my ass, I really didn’t know any useful Gaelic.

Very telling. You get a sense of Flynn’s dry humor, and the fact that he knits gifts for people he cares about (and that he is a constant knitter). All of this just adds that wonderful creative, caring layer to his personality.  It’s a lovely surprise and one among many.

And finally, the thing that really puts me over the edge (not in a good way), a cliffhanger, is missing here.  The ending is fulfilling and yet leaves open the possibility of more fun and  quixotic adventures to come.  I mean, he made a deal with a leprechaun for God’s sake.  Who does that?  Hopefully we will find out how that whopper of a mistake gets resolved in a future story.

What does this all mean?  Well for me, it means that I will go back to the beginning of the series and read The Hangman’s Ghost, the book that started it all and then revisit The Night Shift (and perhaps offer up a mea culpa or two).  For you, it means you should head out and buy this book.  If you want, get all three and read them right through for a Flynn Adder and The Night Shift triple feature.  Either way, it works.  Live on the wild side!  But no matter how you approach it, buy the book.  You won’t be sorry and might even leave addicted.  Just as I did.

Here are the books in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and the events:

The Hangman’s Ghost (The Night Wars #1)

The Night Shift (The Night Wars #2)

The Hellfire Legacy (The Night Wars #3)

Cover Illustrations by BS Clay work well for the series and this book.

Book Details:

ebook, 171 pages
Published April 3rd 2013 by Torquere Books (first published April 1st 2013)
ISBN 9781610404
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_85&products_id=3854
seriesThe Night Wars #03