Review: The Lost (Celestial Blues # 2) by Vicki Pettersson

The Lost is the continuation of the Celestial Blues series featuring former PI now Centurion Griffin Shaw who has given a second chance to find out who murdered him and intrepid rockabilly girl reporter Kit Craig who Griffin saved in The Taken and has a few skeleton's in her closet as well.

The Lost actually takes place four months after the ending of The Taken. Once again Petterson sends readers on an emotionally dark path that includes Kit's past that she's been trying hard to forget including the fact that her father's death has never been solved, and Griffin's inability to put his supposedly deceased wife Evie out of his mind while focusing on his new relationship with Kit.

The Lost's front story is the fact that apparently a Russian mob has moved into Las Vegas with a new drug called Krokodil that is so powerful, that it leaves the abuser on death's bed. As a side story, there's a very dangerous Fallen Angel named Scratch that is after Kit because she burns brightly and is pure in spirit. If that weren't enough suspense for you, Kit's Aunt Marin seemingly has some secrets that she's kept away from Kit since she was 16. It's also apparent that Pettersson wants to stir up a hornet's nest by introducing Detective Dennis Carlisle into the storyline.

For readers who haven't had the pleasure of reading this series yet, the main subject and mystery has been and always will be Griffin's determination to find out who killed him and his wife, and for what reason. Tying up loose ends that span 50 years in length is not an easy thing to accomplish. Call it frustrating if you will, but, I found Kit's mock determination to continually badger and judge Griffin over the fact that he still dreams about his not so perfect wife, a little much.

The ending of The Lost has left me feeling emotionally drained, and I really should have seen it coming since Pettersson likes to torture her readers. The end of The Lost is going to haunt me until the next book is released. I find myself having serious doubts about liking Kit at the moment even though I understood her reasons for her actions in the end. In my humble opinion, they were totally, and absolutely WRONG! But, it is something that Kit's personality would tell her to do. She also spends the entire book in a mood, and not a good one. She's absolutely feeling jealously towards Evie, a woman she's never met. She rushes into situations without thinking about what the consequences are first. For the most part, Griffin is there as her protector but he can't be everywhere at once and yes, he has a job to do as well whenever Sarge calls him.

I feel really, really bad for Griffin after everything that he did in order to save Kit's life. It wasn't a shock to see Sarge's interference in Griffin and Kit's lives by revealing a shocking secret or the fact that another character puts serious doubts into Griffin's mind. Sarge obviously planned this strategy from the beginning in order to get Kit back in line. The Lost laid the foundation for the big reveal by introducing and revealing several key players in Shaw's demise and the reasoning behind it. I'm holding onto my thoughts on who I think was responsible for Griffin's death.

Title - The Lost (Celestial Blues #2)
Author - Vicki Pettersson
Released by Harper Voyager March 19, 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Received from publisher via Edelweiss