Hamilton Laurell K 01

Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron

Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K Hamilton

Firstly, a warning to those of a prudish disposition. This book does have an adult content, but more ribald than overtly pornographic. Kiss of Shadows is a fast, frenzied and humerous book of sex, magic and violence. Fantasy stories have never been like this before. It is a fairy story for grown ups. Laurell Hamilton writes with an excellent gripping style. She has memorable characters and the book is a thoroughly entertaining adventure. This is a heady roller-coaster of a book.
The story is set in a modern day Los Angeles, in a parallel universe where the world of Faerie has 'come out of the closet', and is an accepted part of the population alongside Humanity. The Court of the Queen of Air & Darkness is located in Missouri, and some of the more extrovert characters are stalked by the paparazzi. At the start of the book, the heroine, Merry (Meredith) Gentry after assassination attempts at the Court, is in hiding, working as a private investigator in Los Angeles for the Grey Detective Agency : Supernatural Problems, Magical Solutions. After three years away, Merry's aunt, the Queen, has requested her presence back at Court.
The bad news is that with her re-appearance, the paparazzi and the attempts on her life start again. The good news is that she is just coming into her magical powers. Since she is descended from a long line of fertility gods, it is no surprise that her powers are related to sex. One of the reasons for her ostracism from the Court was that previously her magical abilities had been minor, pedestrian and basically ignored by everyone. They were only impressive to humans. However with her return to Court with enhanced magical abilities, she quickly starts to become a major political force with potentially fatal consequences to herself and those around her.
The book is not perfect, it does have some minor flaws. The Detective Agency at the beginning is essentially a distinct and separate story from the rest of the book. But this is justifiable if only because it contains a superb eight page description of fitting a wire (hidden microphone) inside her bra. Some might feel that Laurell has a fetish about clothing, as she does go on a bit with descriptions of clothing. But I felt that on balance, it contributed to the atmosphere. Also, I do have a problem with the last chapter. Not wanting to spoil the story, I cannot go into details. But Laurell's attempt to tie off the threads served only to tease and frustrate. Either she shouldn't have included the final five page 'chapter', or else she should have given us another fifty pages. I have not read any of Laurells' earlier work, such as the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels (there are eleven listed on the inside cover), but will certainly be giving them a try while I eagerly wait for the sequel to Kiss of Shadows. Too many of the plot lines are left unresolved for there not to be a sequel. Please!

Publisher: Bantam
Date: 2001
Pages: 521 pages
Price: £5.99
Format: Paperback
Reviewed by: Rod Cameron
Review Date: September 2001