Skinwalker

Today’s post is on “Skinwalker” by Faith Hunter and it is the first in the Jane Yellowrock series. It is 320 pages long and is published by ROC fantasy. The cover has Jane dressed in black leather, not showing too much skin, on her motorcycle Bista with a shotgun in her hand looking at the reader; surprisingly not too sexual. The intended reader is adult, someone who likes dark urban fantasy, and that is who should read it. There is some talk about sex, some strong language, and there is graphic violence. Under about age 16 should not read this one. The story is told from Jane/Beast’s first person point of view. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Last year Jane nearly lost her life taking down a deadly family of vampires who preyed on the helpless local populace. Now, after months of recuperation, she’s back and ready to fight again. Except this time, she’s been hired by those she’s trained to kill- Vampires.
Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind- a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires- and hunts the undead for a living. But now she’s been hired to Katherine Fonteneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.
Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission… or else the next skin she’ll need to save may be her own.

Review- The blurb is not a bad but it is not really what the story is about. To start with Skinwalker is fierce. This book is about a strong female protagonist who does not really need anyone else. There is no romance in this story. She is sexually attracted to the Cajun biker, Rick, but she is there on business and does not have the time to get involved. I liked that about her. I liked that there is no love story in this book. I like love stories, I like my characters to have something more than killing the bad guys but I do get sick of every urban fantasy heroine has to have a guy when that is not true with the male heroes of urban fantasy. The story is strong, the characters, mainly Jane and Beast are interesting and very engaging. The mystery of who, what, and the what now of Jane is something that I look forward to reading more about. Also vampires are vampires, they are bloodsucking cursed beings not good guys. They are not bad or evil but they are the not good guys in this book. I did not guess who the killer was but when his plot was laid out I was impressed with evil he was. One thing that the villain did for the story was making Jane question and learn about herself and that is impressive because we only see him about three times in the book. The play of religion is interesting the book not just for the vampires but for Jane as well. I highly recommend this book.

I give this one Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.