2016-04-21
It was an enjoyable read but not my favourite of Keri Arthur’s by a long shot.
This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. It’s from one of Keri Arthur’s early series, the Nikki and Michael series and having now read it I know that Keri Arthur definitely evolved her writing talents far beyond what this series has to offer. That said, it’s not bad, it’s just not great.
At the end of the first book in the series, Michael walked out on Nikki without a word and left her dealing with her heartbreak alone and wondering what she did wrong. When six months later people start vanishing from a luxury hotel Michael reappears and takes Nikki with him to investigate as she is always on the tail of the culprits from investigations of her own.
This book balances the relationship between Nikki and Michael and their supernatural investigation at the hotel nicely, with fire imps, magic, and vampires. You can see elements of what is to come in future Keri Arthur books boiling under the surface but at this stage in the game she hasn’t quite find the formula.
Nikki wants to be a strong character but is too reliant on Michael saving the day as she gets bashed on the head or knocked out by magic. Of course it’s written that she’s there to save Michael but I couldn’t help feeling that it was the other way around…until the climax where she finds some mojo.
Knowing that Keri Arthur in later novels gets the formula right in creating really strong female characters who don’t need the male counterparts (even if they are there) means that this is just a downfall in an early novel where she was finding her feet.
It was an enjoyable read but not my favourite of Keri Arthur’s by a long shot.