A keen, absorbing, character-driven tale of a sleuth and his remarkable supernatural allies.
A private eye reconnects with his werewolf ex-boyfriend while tracking down a client’s cheating spouse in this LGBTQ+ fantasy.
Much of Korean American detective Jae Kim’s work keeps him in Chicago. This includes Wolftown, a walled-in neighborhood. It’s one of the numerous Wolftowns in cities around the globe. Despite the name, Wolftowns are not just for werewolves, but for other extra-human creatures (or “extras”) like vampires as well. Kim isn’t an extra but his partner is—Sergei, a 7-foot Russian ghost bear. The private investigators’ latest job takes them to Detroit’s Wolftown, where Kim’s old Army captain wants to know if his wife is having an affair. Seems like a simple gig, except that Czoltan, Kim’s ex, lives there. They fell in love years ago when Army liaison Kim worked in Germany with Czoltan, a refugee adviser and werewolf. But things in present-day Detroit get even more complicated. Warrant officers suddenly chase Kim, suspecting him of a crime so abominable they’d just as soon shoot him in the street. Kim lies low with help from his ex and his ghostly partner, but someone in unexpected danger may take precedence over his own safety. Susman’s engrossing detective story centers on the cast. The extras in this book are primarily werewolves, who come across as regular people with abundant fur. This opens up effective parallelisms involving discrimination; some callously deem werewolves as monsters, not unlike the bigotry that Kim has seen in his life. The author digs deep into bonds, from the working relationship of Kim and Sergei (bound together by a spell that makes the ghost a helpful partner) to the romance of Kim and Czoltan, whose meet-cute and breakup both eventually come to light. The story nevertheless boasts tight action scenes, such as the innocent Kim sprinting from trigger-happy, lycanthrope warrant officers. Instances of humor are likewise abundant, largely from relentlessly cynical but still endearing Sergei. There’s plenty of material for a potential series, including other extras, like kumiho, Korean nine-tailed fox spirits.
A keen, absorbing, character-driven tale of a sleuth and his remarkable supernatural allies.Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-61450-559-4
Page Count: 246
Publisher: Argyll Productions
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A unique story of transcendent love.
An aimless young musician meets the girl of his dreams only to have his newfound happiness threatened by several inexplicable—and possibly supernatural—events.
The story opens as Leeds Gabriel meets with a detective while his girlfriend, Layla, is restrained in a room one flight above them. Through the interview, readers learn that Leeds was wasting both his time and his musical talent playing backup for a small-town wedding troupe called Garrett’s Band when he spied Layla dancing her heart out to their mediocre music at a wedding. When Leeds approaches Layla, their connection is both instant and intense. A blissful courtship follows, but then Leeds makes the mistake of posting a picture of himself with Layla on social media. A former girlfriend–turned-stalker wastes no time in finding and attacking Layla. Layla spends months recovering in a hospital, and it seems the girl Leeds fell for might be forever changed. Gone is her special spark, her quirkiness, and the connection that had entranced Leeds months before. In a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, he brings Layla back to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. When they get there, though, Leeds meets Willow, another guest, and finds himself drawn to her in spite of himself. As events unfold, it becomes clear that Willow will either be the key to saving Leeds’ relationship with Layla or the catalyst that finally extinguishes the last shreds of their epic romance. Told entirely from Leeds’ point of view, the author’s first foray into paranormal romance does not disappoint. Peppered with elements of mystery, psychological thriller, and contemporary romance, the novel explores questions about how quickly true love can develop, as well as the conflicts that can imperil even the strongest connections. Despite a limited cast of characters and very few setting changes, the narrative manages to remain both fast-paced and engaging. The conclusion leaves a few too many loose ends, but the chemistry between the characters and unexpected twists throughout make for a satisfying read.
A unique story of transcendent love.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-0017-8
Page Count: 301
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
A pulpy throwback that shines a light on abuses even magic can’t erase.
Hung out to dry by the elders who betrayed them, a squad of pregnant teens fights back with old magic.
Hendrix has a flair for applying inventive hooks to horror, and this book has a good one, chock-full with shades of V.C. Andrews, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Foxfire, to name a few. Our narrator, Neva Craven, is 15 and pregnant, a fate worse than death in the American South circa 1970. She’s taken by force to Wellwood House in Florida, a secretive home for unwed mothers where she’s given the name Fern. She’ll have the baby secretly and give it up for adoption, whether she likes it or not. Under the thumb of the house’s cruel mistress, Miss Wellwood, and complicit Dr. Vincent, Neva forges cautious alliance with her fellow captives—a new friend, Zinnia; budding revolutionary Rose; and young Holly, raped and impregnated by the very family minister slated to adopt her child. All seems lost until the arrival of a mysterious bookmobile and its librarian, Miss Parcae, who gives the girls an actual book of spells titled How To Be a Groovy Witch. There’s glee in seeing the powerless granted some well-deserved payback, but Hendrix never forgets his sweet spot, lacing the story with body horror and unspeakable cruelties that threaten to overwhelm every little victory. In truth, it’s not the paranormal elements that make this blast from the past so terrifying—although one character evolves into a suitably scary antagonist near the end—but the unspeakable, everyday atrocities leveled at children like these. As the girls lose their babies one by one, they soon devote themselves to secreting away Holly and her child. They get some help late in the game but for the most part they’re on their own, trapped between forces of darkness and society’s merciless judgement.
A pulpy throwback that shines a light on abuses even magic can’t erase.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9780593548981
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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