ARC Review: Red Hot Fury

Red Hot Fury

Kasey MacKenzie

Series or Stand Alone: Shades of Fury series, book one

Release Date: June 2010

Publisher: Ace

Pages: 337

Author Site: http://www.kaseymackenzie.com/wp/

My Rating: 4/5

Source: Received from friend (Thanks J. Kaye!)

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

Hell hath nothing worse than a Fury scorned...

As a Fury, Marissa Holloway belongs to an Arcane race that has avenged wrongdoing since time immemorial. As Boston’s Chief Magical Investigator for the past five years, she’s doing what she was born to: solving supernatural crimes.

It’s far from business as usual when the body of one of Riss’s sister Furies washes up in Boston harbor. Riss discovers that the corpse’s identity has been magically altered, but as soon as she reports her findings, she’s immediately—and inexplicably—suspended from the her job. Then a human assassin makes an attempt on her life, and Riss starts to realize that someone may be trying to stir up strife between mortals and Arcanes.

When a Fury gets mad, she gets even, and Riss is determined to untangle this case. Without the support of the mortal PD, Riss turns to the one man she can trust to watch her back—shapeshifting Warhound Scott Murphy. But since Scott is also Riss’s ex, she’ll have to keep a tight leash on more than just the supernatural rage that feeds her power as they try to solve a murder—and stop a war…

Review:

Marissa "Riss" Holloway is part of The Sisterhood of Furies, an ancient Arcane race, who are born to protect immortals and mortals from those who would use magic to harm them. Riss has been the Chief Magical Investigator for the Boston Police Department for the last five years. But little does she know that the newest murder scene she is called to will pretty much flip her life upside down. The victim is a sister fury (and very close friend) which is already bad enough, however Riss notices that the body has been magically altered. As soon as she reports her discoveries though Riss is immediately suspended with no real explanation.

Soon after her suspension an assassination attempt goes down which only angers Riss more. Not only is she jobless but now a human has attempted to kill her, what the hell is going on in the world? Riss is determined to solve this case and figure out what's going on. However she has very limited resources, and she'll have to rely on the one (and only pretty much) man she can trust with her life... who just happens to be her ex-lover. Scott is still sexy as ever and still hurts from the break up he had with Riss. Being a shapeshifting Warhound with a fiercely loyal family that still holds a grudge against Riss certainly doesn't help her case. But things are so much bigger than the two of them and their problems. Can Scott and Riss put aside their past and their still-strong-as-ever attraction towards each other to prevent an all out battle between mortals and Arcanes?

The best thing about the novel for me were the plot twists. There might have been a little too much packed into the first book but I have to admit that by the end of the book I was hooked. I enjoyed the suspense that the author provided. I also really loved the characters. There are typical good guys and bad guys in the novel but I so enjoy when more light is shed on the villians and they sort of ride the good/evil line. I couldn't really relate to Riss in the beginning. She's a very kick-ass heroine but not really a favorite of mine. I'm hoping she'll grow on me more as the series progresses because I want to like her more.

I gotta say Red Hot Fury brings a nice, fresh, and unique twist to the urban fantasy world. The author has entertwined a lot of different (and not frequently mentioned) immortals into her story and its a great change in the vamp/werewolf/zombie scene. This first-in-series is a strong debut that definitely promises exciting and great things in the books to come. Red Hot Fury has a lot of action, a lot of characters, and is fast-paced. I found myself a little lost at times, especially at the beginning. But I definitely enjoyed the ride and I can't wait for the second book in the series.