EMBERS by Laura Bickle

Book 1 in series
Publisher: Pocket/Juno Books
Date Published: April 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-6765-6
Urban Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Library


Detroit has high unemployment, no jobs. Anger and despair course through its streets. Arson investigator Anya Kalinczyk spends her days figuring out what caused fires and her nights fighting the malevolent spirits that haunt Detroit, accompanied by a strange group of ghost hunters. Evil is awakening and it is up to Anya, her salamander familiar and her ghost hunter friends to figure out what this supernatural firebug is up to. The countdown to Devil’s Night is on. Can Anya be able to stop the firebug before all hell breaks loose?

Meet Anya, an arson investigator by day and a ghost buster at night. Anya is a rare psychic-a Lantern- and she is tired of it all. The stress of the suspicious fires plus her night job bleeding into her day job is taking a toll on her. Add in demon spirits, a doomed love interest and a salamander familiar that watch her like a hawk; it is all Anya can do to keep sane. When events start to spiral out of her control, she finds herself in a race that will pit her against the supernatural arsonist bent on awakening a century’s old evil that will wipe out Detroit and the world. I really enjoyed Anya. Ms. Bickle delivers a different sort of paranormal/urban fantasy heroine to fall in love with and breathe some fresh air on the genre. Independent, lonely and determined to keep both parts of her life (day job and night job) separate has given her nothing but trouble lately. I really enjoyed how Anya had to work with her brains as well as her supernatural ability to solve the crimes and get the bad guy. Add in some wonderfully fun secondary characters with a dash of mystery and you got the makings of a good story to tell.

EMBERS is the debut novel from author Laura Bickle. I have to admit I was unsure what to make of this book. The premise was intriguing and frankly, I never read an urban fantasy book set in a paranormal Detroit. That was quite a twist that had me opening it up and seeing if it held my interest. I have to say it did that and more. The characters were intriguing, the storyline felt fresh and fast paced and there were some twists in the story even I was shocked to read & had me flipping the pages to see what would happen next. This is a “new to me” author who I am looking forward to reading more of in the future.

EMBERS is a wonderfully fast paced story that draws you in and keeps you enthralled till the very end. I read this book within a matter of hours and wanted to know more when the last page was read. Ms. Bickle is one author I am going to have to check out in the future. I can not wait for more Anya stories in the future. I just hope Ms. Bickle doesn’t keep us waiting too long for her next installment. EMBERS is a sheer joyride from start to finish. Run-don’t walk-to grab this newest debut from an author that will leave you breathless.

THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW.