Review: Red Hot Fury by Kasey Mackenzie

Red Hot Fury
Author: Kasey MacKenzie
Publication: Ace (June 29, 2010)

Description: Hell hath nothing worse than a Fury scorned...

As a Fury, Marissa Holloway belongs to an Arcane race that has avenged wrongdoing since time immemorial. As Boston's Chief Magical Investigator for the past five years, she's doing what she was born to: solving supernatural crimes.

It's far from business as usual when the body of one of Riss's sister Furies washes up in Boston harbor. Riss discovers that the corpse's identity has been magically altered, but as soon as she reports her findings, she's immediately--and inexplicably--suspended from her job. Then a human assassin makes an attempt on her life, and Riss starts to realize that someone may be trying to stir up strife between mortals and Arcanes.

When a Fury gets mad, she gets even, and Riss is determined to untangle this case. Without the support of the mortal PD, Riss turns to the one man she can trust to watch her back--shapeshifting Warhound Scott Murphy. But since Scott is also Riss's ex, she'll have to keep a tight leash on more than just the supernatural rage that feeds her power as they try to solve a murder--and stop a war... 

My Thoughts: This was an interesting story. I liked Riss. She was born mortal and became a fury. She comes from a family of furies. She is determined to keep the peace between mortals and Arcanes. That is what furies are supposed to do. She is immortal but she can be hurt physically and she has been hurt emotionally in her break-up with Scott. One character trait that is less than admirable is that she jumps to conclusions and holds grudges.
The problem as stated in the book description is complex. Someone is trying to kill her and stir up trouble between mortals and Arcanes. There seem to be traitors everywhere. While I enjoyed the book, I kind of felt that I came into a story that started somewhere else. There were so many characters and so many kinds of Arcanes. The relationships between the various characters and various kinds of Arcanes were very complex. There was a bunch of back story and world building that was hinted at but not really explained. Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in further books.

I liked that this was not a typical werewolf-vampire paranormal. Furies, warhounds, giants, oracles, and harpies are not the usual suspects in urban fantasy. I liked what I found out about human-paranormal relations and would like to know more.

I recommend this book to lovers of urban fantasy who want something exciting and out of the ordinary.

Challenges: Paranormal Reading Challenge, RYOB Reading Challenge