Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Flesh Circus by Liltih Saintcrow

The Cirque de Charnu has come.

They will clean out the demons and the suicides, and move on. As long as they stay within the rules, Jill Kismet can't deny them entry. But she can watch--and if they step out of line, she'll send them packing.

When Cirque performers start dying grotesquely, Kismet has to find out why, or the fragile truce won't hold and her entire city will become a carnival of horror. She also has to play the resident hellbreed power against the Cirque to keep them in line, and find out why ordinary people are needing exorcisms. And then there's the murdered voodoo practitioners, and the zombies.

An ancient vengeance is about to be enacted. The Cirque is about to explode. And Jill Kismet is about to find out some games are played for keeps...

Yay I'm not dead! Sorry for the absence readers - I've been dealing with house guests galore! (House guests, if you're reading this, it's not that I don't love you, it's just that you make me slightly too busy to be reading enough to write good reviews!) Anyway, what matters is that instead of rereading old stuff I finally finished something new! I think I've reviewed her books before, but it doesn't really matter for this one does it? Flesh Circus picks up where Redemption Alley left of, with Jill Kismet still fighting the good fight, trying to keep the monsters of the nightside from taking over entirely. I tried to be as committed to Saintcrow's Valentine series, but I think that Jill is just a much more compelling character, with enough twists, turns, and almost psychopathic tendencies to keep a reader interested for a good long while. And of course the types of bad guys that take center stage in these books are also what keep me coming for more. Hellbreed and Traders might be the usual, but Saintcrow manipulates what goes on them in such a way that you're never bored or feel like you know what's going to happen - in fact, it's quite the opposite. Often you feel like you're in the middle of an intricate mystery that has so many hidden components that you're never going to get out unless she shows you the way. But you never feel like you're not connected, so it's always fun to get to the end.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. It might have taken me a few days to get enough free time to read the book, but it was definitely worth the wait. A great paranormal series to have on your shelf!

Series - 1) Night Shift 2) Hunter's Prayer 3) Redemption Alley 4) Flesh Circus