Hunted by the Others

White Hats vs. Others

Quick & Dirty: An enjoyable read with danger, tension and a fascinating paranormal world.

Opening Sentence: Long, delicate fingers caressed the stem of a wineglass, trailing upward to catch a few small beads of condensation on the glass.

The Review:

Supernatural elements known as the Others have revealed themselves to the public. Our protagonist, Shiarra Waynest, is a private investigator struggling to make ends meet. Seeing no other alternatives, and against her better judgment, she decides to accept an assignment from a coven of mages known as The Circle. The Circle wants Shiarra to obtain an important artifact from Alec Royce. He's a very powerful vampire and runs a large portion of New York City. Royce is basically the supernatural King of New York. Naturally, things don't go as planned, and Shiarra finds herself facing dangers from all sides.

Shiarra isn't the typical urban fantasy heroine. She has her share of flaws, and comes across as much more vulnerable, inadequate, and unsure of how to handle certain situations than the typical take charge/kick-butt action heroine. Shiarra isn't unrealistically competent or proficient in the field of investigative work. She really does capture the essence of what it's like being human and trying to navigate dark and deadly territories. Fear, prejudice and inexperience make her irrational at times. Shiarra is leery of supernatural creatures, and really doesn't want to get close with them. At times she was so caught up in her disdain and biases against the Others that she wasn't able to clearly access the situation. Ultimately, Shiarra leads readers on an amazing journey filled with danger and mayhem. Hunted by the Others isn't an overly dark and gritty story, but it's a solid urban fantasy. Ms. Haines delivers plenty of action and character development.

A well-rounded supporting cast of characters help to give the story depth, and keep the story interesting enough to keep readers engaged. Sara plays the role of Shiarra's business partner and best friend. Chaz is Shiarra's ex-boyfriend with some supernatural secrets of his own. He plays a large part in getting Shiarra to deal with her fears and judgment about the Others. Arnold, who is a mage from The Circle, also helps Shiarra navigate the deadly elements plaguing this supernatural world. I know that there is something deeper going on with him, but I guess I will have to wait until the next installment to find out. Royce is definitely an intriguing character and I'm looking forward to learning more about him. I don't want to give too many details away, but I like what Ms. Haines does with the White Hats and the concept of legal arrangements between humans and the Others.

Overall, this urban fantasy romp doesn't disappoint. Hunted by the Others is an absorbing and fast-paced tale. Ms. Haines does a fabulous job worldbuilding and her characterization is excellent. I loved being pulled into the supernatural world that Ms. Haines created. I'm looking forward to visiting this world again in Taken by the Others, which is scheduled to be released on January 4, 2011.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

his is an entertaining urban fantasy

Following 9/11 the Others came out of hiding to help the city. Several years since the werewolves, vampires, and magi surface, Shiarra Waynest and Sara Halloway run a private investigative firm that avoids the Others as clients; preferring cases with purebred humans.

However, they have a financial crisis as business has been poor so the two female sleuths accept Veronica and her coven as a client. The mage wants them to obtain an artifact that allegedly can control the Others; it is in the possession of vampiric club owner Alec Royce. One of his agents reports Shiarra's plan to Royce; he in turn places her in a precarious situation with her agreeing to a lethal contract.

This is an entertaining urban fantasy starring a strong support cast and a feisty female who needs to find another vocation as her sleuthing skills seem lacking. The Others seem genuine especially in how they relate (or not) with the two private detectives as Shiarra's friend Arnold the Mage, her former boyfriend, Chaz the werewolf and Alec the vampire make for an exciting tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not bad

It reads a bit like a laurell hamilton knockoff but i have definately read worse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jess Haines Looking forward to your future books!!

A very good read! Can't wait for the others!

Urban fantasy

Old tropes played in a slightly new angle . I felt like I could take or leave the series until the third book. By then i was throughly intriguedm

Good story

entertaining

fun ride

Fun ride with a mix of vampires, werewolves and magic in the modern day.

What really grabs me with this book is the amusing cast of characters and how they interact. Despite differences the good guys come together to solve the mystery.

Great New Idea for Urban Fantasy

Shiarra is a human detective with a fear of Others, vampires, werewolves, mages, etc. Shia does everything she can to stay away from Others until being low on funds and a choice job with a mage comes along. It sounds simple, find a statue for the mages that a local vampire is said to have. Since the vampire has several businesses that he makes frequent appearances at, Shia decides to approach him about a case where some parents are trying to find their goth son that took off with a vampire.

But things go south when the vampire blackmails Shia into signing a contract that gives the Other the right to do whatever to the human without retribution. The mages don't give Shia the choice of walking away from the case. The White Hats are trying to blackmail her into fighting their cause of ridding the world of Others. But when Shia's ex-boyfriend, a werewolf, tries to protect her from everything else out there, she realizes that she really doesn't have a choice in walking away, too many people that she cares about are now in the Others radar.

I really liked the concept of the book. Although lured by money, Shia steps up and rises above her fears and the pressures from everyone around her. I'm really interesting reading the next book in the series, Taken by the Others.

Great Read

As one that usually doesnt read this genre, this was a pleasant surprise. Well thought out plot and enough twists tp stay onterestong.

mediocre

The ordinary heroine plods through a barely interesting plot to arrive at an ordinary finale.

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