Judith’s review of Slither by Bernadette Gardiner.
Rihana has seen a lot in five years working as a psychic for the NYPD, but the murder of a freelance reporter makes her question if she really wants to continue her law enforcement career.
The dark vibe she gets from this case is nothing new, but the main suspect, sexy enigmatic tattoo artist heath, leaves her heightened senses burning. She can read him like a book and she can see his innocence, but she can’t prove it. his feral sexual thoughts make her insane with need and her desire for him jeopardizes her job and the investigation.
When she learns the truth about the man who can strip her soul bare with a glance, will she give up everything she knows to flee with him to a safer world? Or will she become a psychic killer in order to destroy a ruthless assassin and put an end to her lover’s exile?
This is a rather interesting fantasy–the presence of “other world” residents and their magic all set in the context of a murder in New York. It is a world where even though some still fight the reality of psychic and intuitive knowing, someone like Rihana is on staff and a part of the investigative team of NYPD homicide detectives.
The death of a well-known freelance investigative reporter hits the news big-time, and Rihana is one of those called in to give her “reading” of the crime scene. One of the persons who last saw the victim is a tattoo artist who has been in business in New York for eight years. It is some time before Rihana learns that the body art that covers his own skin is not just body art. Rather it is the picture of a “guardian” with the power to protect from an assassin who comes and goes as a wisp of deadly smoke. Rihana “knows” Heath is innocent but has no way of making that case for her superior or the other detectives who look upon her employment as a waste of good money.
There is a genuine love story here, but the suspense of the murder, the search for the illusive killer, the slow but sure exposure Rihana receives to a world previously unknown to her are all essential to the integrity of the story. It is a tale that is well-told, the characters are strong and yet they contend with the need to make some life and death decisions that are forced on all of us at one time or the other. The fact that this is fantasy doesn’t change that reality. It is a story that I admittedly struggled with initially, but eventually it “caught on” with me and I ended up liking it very much. I was hooked by the murder mystery–I am a mystery fan as well as a romance fan at heart–and that carried me along as I began to get involved with the other aspects of the story.
I have not previously read any of Ms Gardiner’s work, but I am looking forward to experiencing her writing in the future.
I give this book a 3.75 out of 5 rating.
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.
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