Book Log #22: Devil's Due, by Rachel Caine
Apr. 2nd, 2009 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperDevil's Due is the second half of a duology of romance novels, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rachelcaine's contribution to the now-defunct Bombshell line. In this installment, we follow up with the team of Jazz and Lucia, who have been manipulated into starting their own detective agency with the understanding that at any time they may receive mysterious red envelopes--and that when they do, they must give the instructions in those envelopes priority over any other case they may have going. In Book 1, Devil's Bargain, we got the beginning of the story of who's behind this arrangement, and what nefarious motives they have going on.
In Book 2, as the focus shifts from Jazz as the POV heroine to Lucia, we get the rest of the ongoing conflict between the Cross Society and Eidolon. Lucia finds herself increasingly attracted to Jazz's former partner Ben McCarthy, now that he's sprung from prison and proven innocent of the murder charges that had put him there. They soon discover, though, that Ben too is a pawn in this entire complex and shady affair--and that the people who have put them all into their current arrangement won't scruple to let terrorists unleash anthrax in the city, or kidnap Lucia herself if necessary to influence Ben to stand down.
Lucia is a different sort of heroine than Jazz: cooler, more collected, yet with intriguing dark hints about her past work in intelligence and connections with one shady side character in the cast. Her chemistry with Ben is strong and believable, too. My only overall beef with this installment--and by extension the entire story--is that at least on this read-through, the overall motives of the Cross Society didn't quite click for me.
Still, though, this was an enjoyable and light read and I'll probably come back to it again at some point. Three stars.
rachelcaine's contribution to the now-defunct Bombshell line. In this installment, we follow up with the team of Jazz and Lucia, who have been manipulated into starting their own detective agency with the understanding that at any time they may receive mysterious red envelopes--and that when they do, they must give the instructions in those envelopes priority over any other case they may have going. In Book 1, Devil's Bargain, we got the beginning of the story of who's behind this arrangement, and what nefarious motives they have going on.In Book 2, as the focus shifts from Jazz as the POV heroine to Lucia, we get the rest of the ongoing conflict between the Cross Society and Eidolon. Lucia finds herself increasingly attracted to Jazz's former partner Ben McCarthy, now that he's sprung from prison and proven innocent of the murder charges that had put him there. They soon discover, though, that Ben too is a pawn in this entire complex and shady affair--and that the people who have put them all into their current arrangement won't scruple to let terrorists unleash anthrax in the city, or kidnap Lucia herself if necessary to influence Ben to stand down.
Lucia is a different sort of heroine than Jazz: cooler, more collected, yet with intriguing dark hints about her past work in intelligence and connections with one shady side character in the cast. Her chemistry with Ben is strong and believable, too. My only overall beef with this installment--and by extension the entire story--is that at least on this read-through, the overall motives of the Cross Society didn't quite click for me.
Still, though, this was an enjoyable and light read and I'll probably come back to it again at some point. Three stars.