Night Life
by Caitlin Kittredge
Published by St. Martin's (March release)
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Reviewed by Alex McGilvery
Night Life is a police novel with a twist. Detective Luna Wilder is a werewolf. Author Caitlin Kittredge has inserted witches and werewolves into the world of Nocturne City with hints at the backstory and present day prejudice.
Detective Wilder is investigating a series of brutal murders. She discovers a link to an old case, and to even older murders. Along the way she meets Redback werewolf Dimitri Sandovsky who starts as a suspect and ends up as something more than a partner.
Night Life is well written and the characters are all well rounded and complex. She creates a believable integration of werewolf and witch into the mundane world. There are even layers of status and prejudice within the outcast communities. That Detective Wilder is an outcast among outcasts makes her job more challenging, but also leads to her development as a person and police officer.
The book is easy to read. It dives right into the action, and carried me along for the ride. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep it interesting. Since this is the first book in a series, the characters of Luna and Dimitri are even more important. Kittredge has fleshed them in enough to make me empathize with them, but left plenty of room for growth in them and their relationship.
I would caution that this is an adult book. There are a couple of scenes in which the action gets very heated, and somewhat explicit. While it didn’t bother me, some more sensitive readers might be offended.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series. If the following books are written with the same care and interest as Night Life, they will be a welcome addition to this fantasy genre.
Armchair Interviews says: First in a planned series.
Author’s Web site: http://www.CaitlinKittredge.com