Publisher: Ace
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 31st, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
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Blurb from goodreads:
Men in Black meets Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum in the fourth urban fantasy novel in the series starring seer Makenna Fraser and her fellow agents at Supernatural Protection & Investigation.
The agents of Supernatural Protection & Investigations (SPI) are paid to keep the peace. But that’s not so easy when an endless evil threatens to tear that peace to pieces...
A vampire gangster’s nephew is abducted off his yacht by a bunch of low-rent Creatures from the Black Lagoon. A slew of banks are knocked over by what looks like the cast of Night of the Living Dead. All of this may seem like the movies, but, I promise you, it’s not.
I’m Makenna Fraser, seer for SPI, and I know the culprits aren’t wearing disguises or makeup. They’re real. Deadly real. Especially their leader—an ancient shapeshifter who leaves a trail of chaos and blood in his wake. Now, he’s taken my partner, Ian—and his intentions aren’t pretty.
The worst part? This is only the beginning...
The beginning of the end of the human race.
Everything in the previous books has been leading up to this story. Sadly, the ending was a letdown, too rushed and too ambiguous, but the overall story was full of action, mythology come to life, humor, and romance. The book starts with Mac, Makenna Fraser, out on a date with her goblin boyfriend, Rake Danescu. The date ends in a kidnapping which sets events into motion. Mac is no longer as green and naive as she was in the first book, and her southern expressions have toned down, but she's still barely adequate at self-defense while being very good at seeing through glamours. She has gained some new magical powers during the series but she's not arrogant about it. Mac knows her strengths and weaknesses and doesn't stupidly rush into situations she can't handle. I like that about her. She asks for and accepts help but also hurts when Ian, her partner, is kidnapped. She blames herself even though there was nothing she could have done. She is however determined to get him back and the agency, SPI, is putting their full resources into getting him back. I did miss Vivienne's presence in this book and assume her absence will factor into the overall story arc somehow.
The story didn't always hold my attention, I found it easy to put down at times, but I enjoyed seeing events and people from the earlier books come together. Different pieces came together and made sense in a new way and there were some most unexpected revelations. We learned more about Ian, which was good as he's still something of a cipher, and we got to see a tender side of Rake. He's growing on me; Shearin has been slowly developing him, making him a developed and complex character. Yasha the werewolf is wonderful, I just want to hug him. While the story didn't always hold my attention, I loved the characters and Shearin's use of mythology and fairy tales. The SPI Files are a fun and often thrilling blend of mysteries, action, and mythology, and The Ghoul Vendetta is another solid installment.
My review of book .5, from Night Shift, an anthology
My review of book one, The Grendel Affair
My review of book two, The Dragon Conspiracy
My review of book three, The Brimstone Deception
About the author ~
Lisa Shearin is the New York Times bestselling author of the Raine Benares novels, a comedic fantasy adventure series, as well as the SPI Files novels (The Brimstone Deception, The Dragon Conspiracy, The Grendel Affair), an urban fantasy series best described as Men in Black with supernaturals instead of aliens. Lisa is a voracious collector of fountain pens, teapots, and teacups, both vintage and modern. She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her husband, three spoiled-rotten retired racing greyhounds, and enough deer and woodland creatures to fill a Disney movie.
Thank you, Bea!
ReplyDeleteSounds fun! I like the idea of SPI- agencies like that are always fun. And the fact that she can see through glamors but isn't super tough- I'm reading more urban fantasy, I will definitely look for this.
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