Author: Chacelyn Pierce
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 106 Pages
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Blurb: When a skinned corpse found in a cemetery rises from the dead, supernatural agents Avi Grissom and Jakob Ender hunt for the killer. But Grissom is more interested in his partner’s mysterious disappearance two years ago and his recent return. Something isn’t right with Ender, and the werewolf in Grissom desperately needs to sniff out what has Ender so tight-lipped while fighting off the desire for the secretive vampire that has only grown during his absence. His quest to solve the murder unearths personal truths of vengeance and death magic, and reveals one of their most notorious enemies.
Review: For me, fantasy/paranormal can be a hit or miss. Either the author has me lost in the world building, or the plot is just too complicated for a simple mind like mine to grasp. Even though the Cryptshiver blurb sounded promising, giving a new-to-me author a chance…well…it can sometimes prove to be a time consuming mistake.
Now there were two things that helped in making up my mind to give Cryptshiver a chance.
1. It’s a short story (106 pages)
And
2. I cannot resist the lure of a mystery.
As dark regulators, Avi Grissom and Jakob Ender were known as the best at hunting down evil doers. But that all changed when Ender disappeared for two years. Avi took it personally when his best friend left the country without so much as a goodbye. So when Jakob returns, there’s some serious hurt and bitterness on Avi’s part that the two have been paired up again. Also, it didn’t help matters that Avi has always had the hots for his partner, but since Jakob has never shown that he swung that way. Avi pretty much kept his wolfish desires to himself. What Avi doesn’t know, however, is his vampire partner feels the same way too.
While the reader learns the whys of Jakob leaving the country, and about his subsequent return, it takes several angsty moments throughout this supernatural mystery for Avi to discover Jakob’s well kept secret. Not only could it end Jakob Ender’s career as a dark regulator but his life as well. I had my emotional moment in the story when Avi had to choose to kill Jakob to end the darkness that resided within him.
Did I also mention that it’s an absolute joy when I find a new author and their story captivates me?
1. I loved the fact that Cryptshiver caught my interest right away.
2. The world building wasn’t over-complicated.
3. The writing was mature.
5. I didn’t have to go back and forth to a glossary to figure out what a word meant in that particular made- up language.
And
6. The mystery was interesting.
Speaking of mystery, since this is what attracted me to Cryptshiver in the first place, the only problem I had with it was more detail could have been added to the mix, especially learning more about the bad guy involved; though I did loved what I learned about the regulator chief. Nice twist there, Chacelyn.
So with this in mind, I’m giving Cryptshiver a 4.5 star rating. What can I say, except that I want more? I’ll be keeping an eye out for the sequel.
You can buy Cryptshiver here:
