Author: Angel Martinez
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Length: 137 Pages
Category: Paranormal, Fantasy
At a Glance: Definitely pick up Skim Blood and Savage Verse—it is one wild romp from beginning to end, one you will not want to miss.
Reviewed By: Sammy
Blurb: Words damage more than just feelings as Carrington hunts feral books menacing the city.
When a ferocious book attacks Carrington at his own birthday party, he believes it’s an isolated incident. But similar books soon pop up all over town, menacing innocent people with harsh bits of poetry and blank verse that deliver damaging physical blows. It’s a frustrating case with too many variables and not enough answers, and the stakes go up with each attack.
With the help of his misfit squad mates at the 77th and the public library’s Rare Books Department, the missing pieces decrease but not Carrington’s vexations. His commanding officer rakes him over the coals at the beginning of every shift. His police partner has lost patience with what she sees as his delusional relationship choices and his inability to pick the right man in a vast field of two. City Hall demands that the books be stopped immediately. It’s enough to put a nutritionally challenged vampire off his skim blood.
Review: Okay, so I need to begin by saying I absolutely love this series by author Angel Martinez. The Offbeat Crimes stories are funny, clever and so very entertaining. In the paranormal genre, I defy you to find anything more unique than a flying jacket who emotes more than most “normal” characters offered up in any other genre—and, of course, it’s a leather jacket. Oh, and the name? LJ, of course. I admit to giving a slight squeee every time Ms. Martinez launches another novella in this zany series, and the latest release, Skim Blood and Savage Verse did not disappoint.
Focusing on the lone vampire of the offbeat crimes division, the story follows Carrington and his partner, Amanda, from bookstore to library trying to discover who or what has unleashed a series of antique books that have the ability to hurl their insults directly off the page with deadly results. These books do their damage and then seemingly levitate and disappear into the air, thereby avoiding capture. It will take all of Carr and Amanda’s know-how, along with a bit of help from a green peacoat named Hunter, to track down these deadly tomes. Along the way, Carr will meet not one but two gentleman who strike his fancy, but only one will be honest and true, and poor Carrington will fall once again for the wrong guy before discovering the gem that lay right beneath his nose. Now, if only he can keep hold of this Mr. Right despite being the most abnormal version of a vampire ever to grace the paranormal.
I laugh from beginning to end when reading these novels. The dialogue is sharp and witty, the characters immensely bizarre, and yet so incredibly wonderful—likable, for certain. But it is the way Angel Martinez has this crew interact with each other—how each one is so unusual and yet their fellow law enforcement buddies barely blink an eye at their individual idiosyncrasies. There is such camaraderie between these strangely sweet characters, and it is just that bond which makes these stories so much more superior to the run-of-the-mill paranormal novel. Their individual foibles make them unique, and it is their uniqueness that draws them to each other and makes the reader want to know more about them—read more of their story, experience more of their daily routines.
I can say with great ease that I highly recommend this entire series to you, and make sure you read them in order just to get an understanding of the inter-relationships within the police department, but definitely pick up this latest installment, Skim Blood and Savage Verse—it is one wild romp from beginning to end, one you will not want to miss.
You can buy Skim Blood and Savage Verse here:
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