Stacia Kane's Downside series Book 2 & 3 review

Product Description


ENEMIES DON’T NEED TO BE ALIVE TO BE DEADLY.

For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world’s unpleasant little poltergeist problem—humans filing false claims of hauntings—all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes.

Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they—along with their ruthless employers—are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.
 
This book just dragged me further into Chess's world. I loved this series and I never thought I'd like a series about an addict and an enforcer for a drug dealer but I do. These two characters are so damaged that I wonder if they can ever make a serious go of it. Its sort of like a train wreck you don't want to watch it but can't make yourself stop. And Ms. Kane world building is like nothing I've ever read. Very original and fresh. Beware this book ends in my opinion with a big ole cliff hanger with Chess and Terrible more like adversaries. But you know what they say there is a fine line between love and hate. And I was never so glad as to the fact that I started this series late and was able to read the 2 and 3 back to back or I'd probably been pestering Ms. Kane for hints. I give this one a 4 1/2 stars.                                  
   


IT’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ALIVE AND UNDEAD.


Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the streets of Downside, and Chess’s bosses at the Church of Real Truth have ordered her to team up with the ultra-powerful Black Squad agency to crack the grisly case.

Chess is under a binding spell that threatens death if she talks about the investigation, but the city’s most notorious crime boss—and Chess’s drug dealer—gets wind of her new assignment and insists on being kept informed. If that isn’t bad enough, a sinister street vendor appears to have information Chess needs. Only he’s not telling what he knows, or what it all has to do with the vast underground City of Eternity.

Now Chess will have to navigate killer wraiths, First Elders, and a lot of seriously nasty magic—all while coping with some not-so-small issues of her own. And the only man Chess can trust to help her through it all has every reason to want her dead.

In this book we learn more about the Church and its workings. Also in this book finally and I mean finally brings Chess and Terrible together. This happens after much crap happening to and with Chess which almost ended her literally. I'm not wanting to give too much away but this book tested Chess to her limits mentally and psychically. And showed me she is stronger than she knows. I understand that there are more books coming in this series and I am looking forward to them. This one gets 4/12/ stars from me.

FYI I purchased both of these book for my own personal pleasure.

I was so stoked to meet Stacia Kane at Dragoncon this year. Hopefully she'll come back next year now that I've finally read her books.

THE AFTERLIFE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen and constantly attack the living. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch and freewheeling Debunker and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing the human liars or banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot and dangerous water.

Chess owes a murderous drug lord named Bump a lot of money. And Bump wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust with a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

I have been hearing a lot of buzz around the net about this one and was intrigued. A heroine who's a drug addict who works for a church was not my ordinary urban fantasy. And since I was not really expecting to like this book quite frankly I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that it is a fantastic story. The characters are not perfect and the rules of this world sucks but what can you expect after what happened. By the end of the book I was so pulling for Chess and Terrible (what a name anyways) to get together. Lex may be better looking but he comes off kind of smarmy to me. Even though there was nothing which blatantly screamed he's a bad guy. He's just feels slimy if you know what I mean. And I think there is more to Terrible that meets the eye. I am hoping that his character keeps developing and growing. I've immediately added both of the next two books in this series to my wish list. My birthday is coming soon so I won't have long to wait lol.
I give this book a 4 stars.