BOOK REVIEW: DEAD SPOTS BY MELISSA F. OLSON

Title: Dead Spots

Author: Melissa F. Olson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published on: October 30, 2012 by 47North 

Scarlett Bernard knows about personal space: step within ten feet of her, and any supernatural spells or demonic forces are instantly defused—vampires and werewolves become human again, and witches can’t get out so much as a “hocus pocus.” This special skill makes her a null and very valuable to Los Angeles’s three most powerful magical communities, who utilize her ability to scrub crime scenes clean of all traces of the paranormal to keep humanity, and the LAPD, in the dark.

But one night Scarlett’s late arrival to a grisly murder scene reveals her agenda and ends with LAPD’s Jesse Cruz tracking her down to strike a deal: he’ll keep quiet about the undead underworld if she helps solve the case. Their pact doesn’t sit well with Dash, the city’s chief bloodsucker, who fears his whole vampire empire is at stake. And when clues start to point to Scarlett, it’ll take more than her unique powers to catch the real killer and clear her name.

This is the book that started the author’s Old World saga. It’s an urban fantasy series set in our contemporary world, only with supernatural creatures. Witches, vampires, and werewolves are the three main races. The protagonist, Scarlett Bernard, plays a special role in this world. She’s a null, a rare being who can cancel out all magic within a certain radius around her. Scarlett works as a crime scene cleaner for the ruling members of Los Angeles’s Old World. She does this to erase all supernatural traces, keeping humans from learning about them.

Scarlett’s main boss is Dashiell, the cardinal vampire of LA. In this city, the three supernatural factions rule with about equal power. Scarlett works for them all. She hasn’t had any particularly noteworthy job, until now. Dashiell calls Scarlett to a crime scene in a park. There, she comes upon a scene so horrible it would shock even seasoned policemen. Unfortunately, rookie detective Jesse Cruz arrives before Scarlett can deal with the scene. Even more, a werewolf runs away right in front of Cruz’s eyes. Shell-shocked, Cruz makes a deal with Scarlett. He’ll keep quiet about the Old World if Scarlett helps him solve the case. With Dashiell’s reluctant blessing, Scarlett agrees.

BOOK REVIEW: THE COMPETITION BY MARCIA CLARK

Title: The Competition

Author: Marcia Clark

Genre: Mystery, legal thriller

Published on: July 8, 2014 by Mulholland Books (first hardcover edition)

A Columbine-style shooting at a high school in the San Fernando Valley has left a community shaken to its core. Two students are identified as the killers. Both are dead, believed to have committed a mutual suicide.

In the aftermath of the shooting, LA Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight teams up with her best girlfriend, LAPD detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey interview students at the high school, they realize that the facts don't add up. Could it be that the students suspected of being the shooters are actually victims? And if so, does that mean that the real killers are still on the loose?

A dramatic leap forward in Marcia Clark's highly acclaimed Rachel Knight series, The Competition is an unforgettable story that will stay with readers long after the last page has been turned.

Three books in, famous prosecutor turned novelist Marcia Clark has proved her amazing talent. The Rachel Knight legal thriller series is phenomenal. Can The Competition top the stunning third entry in its series? As usual, a few months have passed since the events of Killer Ambition. Rachel Knight and her police detective partner Bailey Keller are pretty much household names now. They solved one of the most high-profile cases to have emerged in LA. This doesn’t mean Rachel and Bailey get stopped for autographs now, though. They’ve gone about their normal lives...as normal as they can be.

The Competition starts from the point of view of two students at Fairmont High, a local LA school. Christy Shilling is a girl who’s worked too hard to make the varsity cheerleading team. Harley Jenson is a studious boy who seeks to win a scholarship to MIT. Their next day at school, things seem like they’ll go as usual. Except, what should have been a normal school day is brutally interrupted. Two unidentified shooters open fire at a pep rally, killing several students instantly. Sadly, one of them seems to be Christy. My heart went out to her. It was so unfair that Christy got killed the day of her debut as a cheerleader. So much hard work, only to be killed when she's had all but a sip of success. Harley’s fate is left ambiguous, though.

BOOK REVIEW: TAMING TROUBLE BY JIFFY KATE

Title: Taming Trouble

Author: Jiffy Kate

Genre: Romance

Published on: November 30, 2017 (self-published)

The day Tucker Benoit left his father's farm in French Settlement to pursue his love of music was the best day of his life.

Or so he thought...

After years of booze, girls, drugs, and gigs, Tucker finds himself back where he started. Only this time, he finds solace on the farm that once isolated him from the world.

Now, the only thing hindering his much-needed R and R is the smart and sassy Piper Grey. The fire between them is palpable and lands them between the sheets more often than not.

But when a blast from Tucker's past shows up out of nowhere, he's forced to re-evaluate his life. The future never looked more uncertain and his heart never felt more torn apart.

Suddenly, staying on the road doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all...

After finishing the two books that make up Micah Landry’s and Sheridan (Dani) Reed’s story, I was eager to read Piper Grey’s. She is Dani’s best friend. Although Piper had a rather small role, she piqued my interest. I found her intriguing, and her name is cool to boot. Taming Trouble is book four in this southern romance series. I skipped the second because it's a prequel, and I was more interested in Micah, Dani, and Piper. The protagonists of Taming Trouble are Tucker Benoit and Piper Grey. It takes place in French Settlement, Louisiana. Tucker is a notorious bad boy and womanizer. I kid you not, Tucker earned himself the crude but amusing nickname Tucker the Fucker. He doesn’t do serious relationships.

Tucker used to be an aspiring singer. Failing to make it big, he returned to French Settlement to regroup. There, he struck up a friends- (or rather, enemies) with-benefits relationship with Piper. They couldn’t stand each other, but their chemistry was blazing. Taming Trouble starts after one of their trysts. They wake up after a drunken night at a club. It turns out a bandmate of Tucker’s filmed the latter’s drunk proposal and posted the video on Twitter. Tucker finds the situation amusing, but Piper is not thrilled. She runs away in a fury.

BOOK REVIEW: CASSIDY JONES AND THE LUMINOUS BY ELISE STOKES

Title: Cassidy Jones and the Luminous

Author: Elise Stokes

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: September 25, 2014 by JACE Publishing LLC

They need. They seed. They breed.

An inhuman evil lurks in the depths of Lake Washington— an evil that walks among us. They look like us...they talk like us...but they are not us. And when Cassidy Jones discovers that they threaten life as we know it, can she summon the power to stop them? In her greatest test yet—and her greatest adventure— the world hangs in the balance against a relentless and insidious adversary: the Luminous.

After three books, I’ve become a big fan of Cassidy Jones. She’s such a memorable character. At only fifteen, Cassidy has become a superhero after gaining powers in a lab accident. She even has a rogues gallery now. They’re rather wacky but not lame. Lily White/Metal Woman seems to be Cassidy’s main nemesis. She’s sitting this book out, though. Cassidy and her sidekick, Emery Phillips, are going to have plenty on their plate without worrying about previous villains.

Cassidy Jones is the talk of Seattle now. She spends her nights working off excess energy; this sometimes involves crime-fighting. The news has taken to calling Cassidy the “Seattle Shadow.” She doesn’t have an actual superhero suit (or even name), but takes care to dress in all black. There’s a change in the status quo now, too. Cassidy’s family is aware of her powers and what she’s been up to this whole time. They’re understandably worried, but Serena and Gavin (Emery’s parents) assured the Joneses that Cassidy can handle herself.