SHADOW & POISON

A detective with strange powers takes on a client whose touch is deadly in this romantic fantasy.

The year is 1933, and Mark Van Ryn is Chicago’s only albino private eye. But his most unusual feature is his ability to melt into and travel within shadows. His reputation for solving supernatural crimes brings Elizaveta Karlova to his doorstep. She hires him to dig up dirt on five wealthy men, one of whom she plans to marry. Mark tries to decline the case, but Eliza insists. She doesn’t tell him that she’s a Lamia, possessing a scent that ensnares men and a touch, if she chooses, that can kill. No sooner does Eliza leave than one of Gabriel “Scarface” Camonte’s thugs arrives. The mobster hires Mark to find out what’s dissolving his men from the inside out. Later, Mark tries to inform Eliza that he’s quit her case, but she won’t accept his decision. She uses her cursed scent to tame the detective, ensuring that he becomes obsessed with her. Mark crashes a party at which Eliza hopes to woo her potential husbands, including Lionel Duke of Duke Chemical. Does the industrial waste created by his company have anything to do with mobsters dying near sinks and drainage systems? In Curry’s series opener, a Chicago between world wars provides a moody backdrop for superpowered individuals to fight crime and enjoy steamy sex. Mark is like a “Greek statue come to life,” and he isn’t above using his shadow powers to spy on Eliza. “Wouldn’t you like to touch me?” she asks, knowing he’s somehow watching her undress. Duke is thoroughly villainous in saying, “War will never be over.” A tentacled monstrosity grants the narrative horror bona fides, and a rooftop tryst fulfills the inevitable Batman homage. The author’s secondary characters shine, including Frasier Robinson, Mark’s Black best friend. In one scene, Eliza shakes his hand and causes an “audible gasp” from White partygoers. But stealing the show is the sustained, high-resolution carnality of the protagonists. Rabbits seem lazy compared to Mark and Eliza, giving this entertaining tale a striking erotic polish.

A torrid, atmospheric fantasy that satisfies on all fronts.