Gwen’s review of Red (Dead World, Book 1) by Jordan Summers
Urban Fantasy Romance released by Tor Paranormal Romance 4 Nov 08

I read a lot of urban fantasy.  I read a lot of historicals, too.  Okay, okay.  I just plain read a lot.  But I still read a lot of urban fantasy and when I find a new UF series, I can normally tell within a few chapters if it’s a series I’ll want to follow.  I think this is one I’ll likely follow, if for no other reason than its interesting mix of genres. 

This series is placed in a believable alternate future.  The world is a post-apocalyptic, depleted ozone layer world where even human bodies are recycled for their base elements, etc.  The North American federal governments have broken down into individual republics (seems to be a popular premise these days) and violent crime is rare.  In Summers’s world we have the Others: a variety of beings who, because of government-sponsored genetic manipulation, are vampires, werewolves, etc.  A much rumored, never proven sub-species of humans.

Unbeknownst to her for much of the book (but patently obvious to the reader, so this is really no spoiler), our heroine is part Other.  She is also a member of a cross-republic law enforcement squad who roams the wastelands looking for crimes.  When the squad she’s assigned to finds a particularly grisly murder, they begin an investigation that thrusts our heroine into a world she had only heard rumors and innuendo about – a world that completely changes what she knows about herself and her family.  A world that brings her in touch with her mate.

This was a fun-to-read book with a very good murder mystery, good political sub-plots, and some fun world-building.  The romance is hot and well developed and most of the characterizations are very interesting.  The only problem I had with the book is the amount of real estate spent on the world-building, but I think that is an unavoidable side effect of a first book in a series that relies so heavily on sci-fi-like aspects.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a cross between contemporary paranormal romance, thriller, sci-fi romance, and urban fantasy.  This is a new author to me, so it’s tough to say whether it’s indicative of her writing in general, but I did find the story arc flowed well.  It’s an all around good story that should, based on what I read on the author’s site, develop in interesting directions.

Grade: B

Summary:
.
War is brewing in a near-future world where murder is all but unheard of and the existence of creatures known as the Others has yet to be proven. In the end, one woman will face her fears to stand and fight.
.
Gina Santiago is a member of an elite tactical team in charge of protecting the world. She’s devoted her life to apprehending the most heinous criminals that prey on society-and now she’s after the worst one yet.
.
On her own, with no backup, the trail takes her to a dusty, tight-knit town on the fringes of society, where everyone’s a suspect. Even the sexy sheriff, Morgan Hunter, isn’t telling her everything.
.
The closer Gina comes to finding out the secret of this sleepy little town and its big, bad sheriff, the more scared she gets-because she’s beginning to realize that she has a secret, too. A secret that will change her life…and make her the killer’s next prey.

Read an excerpt (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

and Crimson (Book 3), coming Nov 2009