2008-10-12 First in a New Urban Fantasy Series

A Rush of Wings follows F.B.I. special agent Heather Wallace as she pursues a serial killer across the country. The trail has brought her to New Orleans, Club Hell and the rock musician Dante - a man who claims to be a vampire. Heather believes Dante to be the killer's next victim, but the situation is so much more complicated than she could have imagined. As she tries to unravel the truth about Dante, she comes to realize she's just one small pawn in a much bigger game. Dante's past holds the key to everything, but the cost of him remembering may be more than she wants to pay.

A Rush of Wings is very much urban fantasy. It has vampires that are vampires, not angsty, sighing by the moonlit window guys and gals, these are the real, rip your throat out without breaking a sweat, deal.

The story has a multi-stranded plot which slowly comes together as the destinies of all the characters collide. Heather is torn between wanting to protect Dante - who in a nice change from the usual vampire novel is only 23 and several years younger than her - and acknowledging that she may need protecting from him. Heather is a strong heroine, she doesn't fall apart when she finds out about this other world that lives alongside our own, but neither does she meekly accept it either.

Dante himself is a tortured hero. A victim of horrific abuse, he has a past he can't remember, and unfortunately seems to bring pain to those closest to him. Only half-vampire he has a power that he can't control and which, if he's not careful will bring him even more unwanted attention.

I loved the contrast and similarity between Heather and Dante. Heather who believes promises are made to be kept, not broken, but she knows that sometimes that's not possible. Dante who never lies, and who can't forgive those who lie to him. As you read the story, it's almost inevitable that they'll come together, but the question of whether they'll be able to stay together has yet to be answered.

A couple of nitpicks. To begin with I was having a slight problem keeping track of who was doing what among the large cast of characters. After I got into the rhythm of the book and finally got Simone and Silver straight in my head, I was okay. What made it easier was the fact that the major characters are so well drawn.

The cover - I'm not sure if at any point Heather wears a leather bustier and mini-skirt. In fact her default mode of dress seemed to be trench coat. (I know authors have little control over their covers but I'm mentioning it, just in case anyone was put off by the chick on the cover.)

And I didn't immediately cotton onto the fact that this is set slightly in the future. There are a couple of technological things that went over my head because I assumed that the book was set in the present. It's not until near the end of the book that I finally put two and two together and work out we're not quite in Kansas any more.

However, overall I very much enjoyed the story and this is another series that I will be following.

Book 2 - In The Blood (Jan 2009)