book reviews forevermore

Three and a half stars. Downgraded partly because the underlying mystery surrounds an attempted rape, and I prefer my escapist fantasies to not spend so much time ruminating over what rape means and how it's threat can change connections to other people. Otherwise very enjoyable, with a solution to the mystery that was quite clever. It's second in a series, but is very readable as a stand-alone book, although I might have benefited from reading Gilman's Retriever series, as it is set in the same world. Bonita is a very likeable protagonist, who is normally confident, friendly, sexually confident and genuinely likes people, which can be unusual in a female protagonist. The rest of the team has a nice blend of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, which adds interest. The story also has a budding magical and personal attraction between Bonita and one of her bosses that ends up facilitating the investigation. The romance might disappoint PNR fans, however, as physically it doesn't go too far beyond hand-holding. I'll definitely check out the rest of the series.