Murder by Death

Well, now I know what all the fuss is about.

I've put off trying this series for years because the setting is rather dystopian, and I don't generally care for dystopian but I am a sucker for magic.  I generally not a huge fan of shifter-centric urban fantasy either - but Patricia Briggs made me a fan of Mercy Thompson and Curran changes into a Lion! which makes the whole were thing so much more interesting to me.

I don't like dark, heavy stories, and it's not that this one isn't dark - it is, but only if you really let yourself think about it too much; the author gives you just enough information and then leaves it up to you to decide how much you want to squick yourself out thinking about it.  She didn't once make you wallow in anything truly horrible (although that final scene comes close - really close).  I was able to lightly skim over the parts that were going to squick me out.

There really isn't anything to dislike about Kate; she's everything a heroine should be by definition.  I also really like Curran, because, Lion.  Also, I do like a good alpha-male character, but I do admit to being puzzled by some of his outbursts throughout the book: he accuses her of wanting the spotlight on herself, but nothing Kate did, said or thought struck me as diva-ish.  I liked the sparring though.

All around a very good story that sucked me in completely - I'm definitely going to read the next one as soon as I can get to the library to pick it up.

[PopSugar 2015 Challenge:  A popular author's first book.]