Sunday, February 10, 2013

Review: Shadows in the Darkness by Elaine Cunningham


  This is a mature book, at least far more so than many others. It doesn't insult (much) the intelligence of the reader.
  You just don’t find many books like this anywhere.
  Gwen knows she’s different, but doesn't know what she is and she suffers because of it. She is former cop turned private investigator specializing in finding lost and kidnapped girls, like she, herself is lost. And the city of Providence’s steamy underside is where she’s doing most of her work, and she’s good at it, so good that she easily convinces club owners and vice bosses that she is her disguise: a sexy lap dancer, a woman making men turn their eyes at her wherever she goes.
  She’s a very believable «heroine». There aren't many unconvincing events in the book. The story feels very much like real life. Perhaps she is too much in denial when she discovers her true inheritance, and the fact that a sensual woman doesn't have sex during the book are the only things I find a bit frustrating and unlikely.
  It’s not a genre book, another point in Elaine’s favor, the way I see it. If you must label it, call it «urban fantasy».
  Elaine has mostly done licensed work. I guess she earns more money doing that than on her own stories and that is too bad. I will skip the Forgetting Realms, Star Wars and stuff like that and keep reading her real stuff.
  This book is out of print. I was lucky to find it at the local library. Again we see an example of how quality fails to become a bestseller.

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