Title: Infected: Fallout
Series: Infected: Book Twelve
Author: Andrea Speed
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 266 Pages
Category: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars
At a Glance: There is an articulate sense of fondness that permeates the latter books of the Infected series, and much of that is owed to the band of throwaways and misfits who are always there for Roan. These characters are such an “all for one and one for all, ride or die” crew, and they have been assembled with the perfect blend of snark, irreverent humor, piss-taking, and respect and love for each other.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Roan and Dylan’s life has changed since harboring a runaway infected, and weathering Roan’s notoriety from the Profeta case. Still, it’s not all bad news – a mid-tier celebrity wants to hire Roan for an unusual case. Only it takes a dark turn, and while trying to deal with it, Roan also has to deal with a medical issue.
It falls to Roan’s family – including reckless Holden and imposing teddy bear Grey – to figure things out, and find a killer before he kills again.
Review: Roan McKichan is a ticking timebomb, and he and everyone who knows, loves, and cares about him understands that he’s not destined to live to a ripe old age. That’s been a running thread through the Infected series since early on. The virus that means Roan is part lion and superhuman, is slowly and steadily killing them both. Roan isn’t sitting around and waiting for everything to end, though. He’s still Roan McKichan from his taste in music to his t-shirts to his sense of humor to his love for his husband and his gratitude for the family he has somehow (accidentally?) collected over the years. There is an articulate sense of fondness that permeates these latter books of the series, and much of that is owed to the band of throwaways and misfits who are always there for Roan.
Infected: Fallout almost reads like a book within a book—the part with Roan and the part without, although he’s always a presence. Roan is working a couple of seemingly routine cases, one involving a woman who is trying to find her biological father; and the other involving a closeted actor who’s trying to find a guy he hooked up with one night. The case of the missing father is getting nowhere fast, but the case of the missing hookup gets interesting when the guy Roan is searching for turns up dead. And, in only the way Roan can sniff out details in a case (sometimes literally, which hasn’t endeared him to the Vancouver PD), it turns out he may be looking for a murderer who has killed more than once. But he doesn’t get the chance to pursue the leads on either case; instead, he ends up in the hospital and undergoes emergency brain surgery. That’s when Holden and Chai step in to take over the investigations, Dee steps in with some emotional support, and Grey takes on the job of security for Dylan and Maya, the girl Dylan and Roan are caring for, and I love her place in their family.
I appreciate that Andrea Speed always finds a way to bring these characters together, although having the reunion be at the expense of Roan’s health means there’s always an overlap of fear that this might be the end. It challenges the comfort that you’re hanging out with these characters again, like old friends you haven’t seen in a while. The story shifts from Holden trying to find a killer, to Grey being everything wonderful, to Dylan trying so hard not to slip into a deep depression while he waits what feels like endless days for the phone to ring saying Roan is awake. And Maya has her own questions and insecurities to deal with, which is one of the many things that makes Grey wonderful. All these storylines, rather than feeling cumbersome or disjointed, keep the story on an even keel. Being taken from scene to scene doesn’t steer the focus away from Roan but manages to maintain an emotional balance during a stressful time, and I was glad for the distraction.
Putting Holden at the forefront of any investigation is never wrong. Ever. He’s still unapologetically himself even as he’s accepted that he’s past his prime as a sex worker. He still is and always will be a hardcore badass, and he still is and always will be Roan’s friend. Holden gets the job done, albeit he does it his way, which is not Roan’s way, and which means Holden is lucky Grey was watching his back. These characters are such an “all for one and one for all, ride or die” crew, and they have been assembled with the perfect blend of snark, irreverent humor, piss-taking, and respect and love for each other.
What is yet to come for Roan, Dylan, Maya, and the rest of the family isn’t for me to speculate. I’m the one who’s still sitting here waiting for a miracle for Roan, for science to catch up to the virus, for him and his lion to call some sort of truce, and I have been for forever now. I’ll just sit here and wait to see what Andrea Speed brings to the creative table and be grateful for the time I’ve spent in the Infected -verse.
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