Author: Anne Bishop
Publication: Ace (March 6, 2018)
Description: In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, an inn owner and her shape-shifting lodger find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.
Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others--vampires, shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget....
After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns such as Vicki's don't have any distance from the Others, the dominant predators who rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what is out there watching you.
Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe--one of the shape-shifting Others--discovers a murdered man, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, ancient forces are roused by the disturbance in their domain. They have rules that must not be broken--and all the destructive powers of nature at their command.
My Thoughts: Vicki DeVine got The Jumble as her divorce settlement when her emotionally abusive husband Yorick Dane decided he needed to move up from his starter wife. She has spent months updating the very run down resort on the shore of Lake Silence. The Jumble is near Sproing, the only human village near Lake Silence. When her only renter Aggie Crowe is getting ready to heat an eyeball in the wave-cooker and mentions that the rest of the body is on the path between Vicki's place and the neighbor, Vicki contacts the nearest police station.
Since the troubles that happened when the Others cleaned house leaving many humans missing or dead, Sproing doesn't have a police force of their own. Wayne Grimshaw is the highway patrol officer who is sent to Sproing to check out the body. He is used to patrolling the roads and knows very well that there are many dangerous Others out there. One look tells him that the victim was not killed by a human.
Grimshaw begins an investigation which leads right back to Vicki's ex and a club of unscrupulous businessmen. Apparently, they want The Jumble back so that they can turn it into a high class resort. Luckily, Vicki has made friends including her new lawyer Ilya Sanguinati who is the vampire overseer of the humans in Sproing. She is also befriended by many of the Others and Elementals who call Lake Silence home and who want Vicki to succeed in her new business which provides a way for humans and Others to learn about each other. She also makes friends with some of the humans in Sproing too, including Julian Farrow who was an Intuit and former police officer and is currently the owner of Lettuce Read - the local bookstore.
I liked that the story was told from a number of viewpoints with the chapter titles saying who was telling that part of the story. I like that that humans are not the dominant species in this world. I liked that the Others were so very different than humans in the way they thought. Vicki was a great character who had self-deprecating humor despite suffering from crippling anxiety attacks. I liked the way she treated any of the Others she met with caution, courtesy, and respect. I liked the idea that a bookstore was an essential part of the town and that sharing stories was a way for the Others and the humans to begin understanding each other.
I highly recommend this great fantasy story.
Favorite Quote:
Oh golly. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Less than a month ago, I'd discovered that my lodger was one the Crowgard, and I had a Panther and a Bear as employees. Now I was hobnobbing with the Lady of the Lake and Fire and acting all casual about other Elementals like Water and Winter taking an interest in The Jumble. Look at adaptable me.I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
I so wanted to sit down before I passed out.
New author and new book for me. Thanks for the review.
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