Book Nook

Night Child by Jes Battis

College students rejoice! June is the official start of summer, so I'm kicking off the season with a new book a week that you should be sticking in a beach bag to take on vacation, or just relaxing with in the backyard along with a glass of sweet tea. This week's is a paranormal mystery offering. Be sure to check back every Monday for a new book!

The paranormal world mixes with a CSI-like setting in Jes Battis' "Night Child."

Tess Corday is a first-level investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab and a mage. It seems like another day at the office when she is called to a murder scene of a vampire. But there seems to be no cause for the vampire's death, and the only clues is a faint memory of a young girl and a photo of the vampire and a mysterious woman.

Tracking down the girl, Tess and her partner and friend, Derrick, a telepath, find her living with a woman who claims to be her aunt - and is actually something a lot more dangerous. Suspecting she is under thrall by "Cassandra," the two encourage her to call them if needed. They aren't surprised to get a phone call - but are when they must defend the girl against monsters of the dark.

Soon Tess and Derrick's boss, Marcus, is threatening to fire them if the case isn't followed to the letter of protocol, and bodies are turning up at every corner. But as they begin to unravel the clues that lead them to vampires and necromancers, they stumble upon a conspiracy that could change their world forever.

Paranormal and crime drama mixes in a fun, interesting new take on the genre. This is an exciting start to a new series.

"Night Child" is published by Penguin. It is $6.99 and 292 pages long.