DIVINE MISDEMEANORS

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton ISBN: 9780345495969 12/2009 FANTASY/SUSPENSE Publisher: BALLANTINE

You may know me best as Meredith Nic Essus, princess of faerie. Or perhaps as Merry Gentry, Los Angeles private eye. In the fey and mortal realms alike, my life is the stuff of royal intrigue and celebrity drama. Among my own, I have confronted horrendous enemies, endured my noble kin's treachery and malevolence, and honored my duty to conceive a royal heir—all for the right to claim the throne. But I turned my back on court and crown, choosing exile in the human world—and in the arms of my beloved Frost and Darkness. While I may have rejected the monarchy, I cannot abandon my people. Someone is killing the fey, which has left the LAPD baffled and my guardsmen and me deeply disturbed. My kind are not easily captured or killed. At least not by mortals. I must get to the bottom of these horrendous murders, even if that means going up against Gilda, the Fairy Godmother, my rival for fey loyalties in Los Angeles. But even stranger things are happening. Mortals I...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

DIVINE MISDEMEANORS wasted no time in pulling this reader back into the world of fairies, miracles, and the neverending battle between good and evil. Merry is a princess among the fairies, but exists as a private eye among mortals. She is called upon when there is reason to believe her supernatural talents will help solve mysteries for which there are no ordinary answers. In this case, someone is killing the fey, something that is shown early on to be both brutal and pre-meditated.

The interplay between the two worlds, magic and mortal, intrigues me, so I read this book in one sitting. Ms. Hamilton balances both worlds effectively, pulling aspects from each into her plot and making all things, at least for this reader, somewhat believable. Rhys and Merry, as well as everyone else in this complex mystery, entertained me from start to finish.

What affected me most about this book was the sad truth that no matter how diligently the battle against evil is fought, there will always be another battle waiting to be waged.  I wouldn’t have thought a faerie private eye could touch me so deeply, but she did. And that, I think, is what great storytelling is all about—touching the reader’s heart. Well done!

Kay James