Our story begins with Jack Valentine. Now, she isn’t bad at her job. She is just the youngest person to be a member of the Oxford Seekers. Also, she has a grudge against the illusive Killian Drake. When a dead body shows up on a May Morning, she knows in her gut that it is Drake who committed this heinous act. When Jack discovers her victim is a human, she knows that trouble is brewing ahead. Her major problem is that there is no evidence against Drake. In fact, all the evidence points straight to high level leaders that Jack can’t get access to. Unfortunately, she knows exactly who can get her in. If that means teaming up with her enemy, fine! As long as she can keep calm, Drake will lead her right where the ringleaders are. Hopefully, no one else will have to die. Although, it might be best to keep body bags around.
The background, while usually important, is not necessarily true in this case. The prequel to this story, Killian’s Dead, is a great beginning to understand the background of the story. I felt that since this book is out, there wasn’t much history explained. While sometimes that is not always what I love, I found this to be a wonderful transition. I knew the background before reading this book. You do not have to read the prequel to enjoy the book, but having the background helps quite a bit.
The characters are my favorite part of any book. This is the second Josie Jaffrey book that I have read. I have to say, I love the style of characters. Killian and Jack interested me. I was curious about them and wanted to explore more. This is another reason reading Killian’s Dead can help the reader. The book makes you think about Jack. Her personality is intriguing and confusing at times. I think that the novella does explain it more. I have to say that the romance in this book is like a character of its own. I am not a fan of love triangles usually. It has to be extremely well written. In this case, I find it interesting. It is not what I expected from a love triangle. Even if the prospective reader isn’t fond of a love triangle, I think they would enjoy this.
I always like to give a disclaimer for those who are not as comfortable with violence, intimacy, or language. This book is an urban fantasy that also has some violence. Most of it has to do with the investigation into the murder. Also, the mention of vampires is used a lot. It is definitely a darker version of vampires that does go more into the gruesome acts. I would say that the intimacy is not an overt amount. I couldn’t get a read of how deep it goes because there seemed to be more fill in the blanks than anything. It makes one fill in the details in a lot of ways. Your imagination can determine how deeply it goes. There is cursing in the book as well. If you are one that doesn’t love cursing, I would say this novel uses it as a descriptor and not something that is not out of place. To me, it isn’t offensive, and I didn’t find it to be too much or disturbing in any way.
My rating: While I like this book, I do find it a little slow. I am not one who is against reading a long story with a lot of information, but I don’t love when a book takes a long time to tell a single event. I feel that at times, this book was missing a piece. I felt as if I needed to read another series the author has written first because pieces were missing. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I did like the storyline and the characters. I just was not the biggest fan of the pace of the book. I felt as if I wanted more. I was waiting for a climax and I think I was missing that. If you are okay with a book being slower, then I highly recommend it.
I hope this review helps you in making your next book choice. Happy reading!
On Review by Sara 