Shadows In The Water by Kory M Shrum

I hadn't noticed the author of the book before I purchased this book, the blurb intrigued me so I downloaded it.  It was only when I came to read it that I realised that I have read Ms Shrum's work before and quite enjoyed the earlier books in the Jesse Sullivan series.  However, I didn't thoroughly enjoy them so I was a little trepidacious going in to the book.  I needn't have worried as her writing style has matured quite a lot since those early books and the story moves along in a far more streamlined manner.

That said she does seem to have a thing for people being able to transport themselves to any place or time (Jesse Sullivan does it to claim souls and Louie Thorne just does it).  In the context of both stories it works but I have to say the mechanics of it in Shadows In The Water is much better and even has a more fully realised feel to it whether Lou is using water to get to La Loon or Darkness to move wherever her inner compass tells her she needs to be.

The cast of supporting characters is very strong with characters becoming apparent quite quickly on the page and seemingly effortlessly.  Lou Thorne however, is a little bit lacking in the character department.  Although, we are given the reasons for her vigilantism the character of the woman herself is barely there.  She is as enigmatic to us, the reader, as she is to her Aunt Lucy, King and Konstantine and without this I felt I could not really connect to her.

The action is fast paced and rather gory, which I enjoyed as it is not surreal gore but rather realistic in the way the human body reacts to gunshots and stabbings.  There is something of the procedural crossed with gangster movies crossed with the supernatural baout this book and it is a blend that works exceptionally well in this instance.  I just hope that this can follow through in to the second book and that the seeming romance between Konstantine and Lou does not overpower the relationship between Lou, King and Lucy.

The fantasy world of La Loon is well realised despite it's limited appearences in the book and the narrowness of the vista we are given.  Would it be wrong to want Jabbers as your own pet? 

This book was something a little bit different that captured my imagination and I am looking forward to the second in the series.