Tuesday, September 8, 2020

#Review - Brimstone Bound by Helen Harper #Fantasy #SyFy

Series: Firebrand # 1
Format: Kindle Edition, 233 pages
Release Date: September 3rd 2020
Publisher: Helen Harper
Source: NetGalley

Genre: Urban Fantasy

A werewolf killer. A paranormal murder. How many times can Emma Bellamy cheat death?

I’m one placement away from becoming a fully fledged London detective. It’s bad enough that my last assignment before I qualify is with Supernatural Squad. But that’s nothing compared to what happens next.

Brutally murdered by an unknown assailant, I wake up twelve hours later in the morgue – and I’m very much alive. I don’t know how or why it happened. I don’t know who killed me. All I know is that they might try again.

Werewolves are disappearing right, left and center.

A mysterious vampire seems intent on following me everywhere I go.

And I have to solve my own vicious killing. Preferably before death comes for me again.



Brimstone Bound, by author Helen Harper, is the first installment in the authors Firebrand series. Protagonist Emma Bellamy is a detective-in-training with the London Police. She's just entered her final rotation at the top of her class when she gets disastrous news. After everything she's worked hard for, she ends up being assigned to the Supernatural Squad instead of her coveted Cyber Crime. The Supernatural Squad is where the worst of the worst are dumped. On Emma's first day, she meets her new mentor, Detective Constable Anthony Brown who she will work with for the next 2 weeks. 


Soho is an interesting place. 2,000 Vampires live here in a feudal system of governance alongside with (4) Werewolf clans. There are also ghouls, and gremlins living here. The balance between the supes is delicate to say the least. One wrong move, and the Supe Squad will be the first to fall. After all, they are just curtain dressing to keep up the appearance that the humans care. On her first day, she encounters two werewolves at each other’s throats which she curiously breaks up. But, after being lured out to Soho in the middle of the night by a curious message, she ends up dead. Ah, but what would be the point of this story if she stayed dead, yeah? 


So, 12 hours later, according to her new friend in the coroner's office, she literally rises from the dead without a scratch on her. Determined to find out who killed her, Emma starts her own investigation. She's assisted in her quest by Lukas who is the vampire in these parts. Lukas may be the one person to make sure that Emma doesn't end up dead again. He's also the one who asks the hard questions; just why is Emma still alive after her brutal encounter with a killer? What is Emma anyway? But the mystery is just beginning. Tony is found dead. The werewolf Emma met the day before is dead, and her sister is missing, and the twists are just getting started.


The one thing you can take away from this first story is that the author has chosen not to name what Emma is even though the cover of this book clearly hazards a guess into that direction. When reading a book that is also a mystery, a reader must fully take in all characters whether they are on screen or just off screen. Of all the characters involved in this series, I have to say Lukas is the most curious. It's more than apparent that he's not going to let the Emma question go. It's also apparent that there's a connection between the two. It won't be long to find out what happens next. The next installment releases in October.
 


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53713359-brimstone-bound



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