3.5 stars - The Taken, the Celestial Blues series starter, was a mixed read for me. The first chapter was a 'grabber', but I found the next few chapters to be uneven and I kept wavering as to whether I even had the patience to continue on, because I liked the parts with leading man Grif Shaw - a 'busted' (not fallen) angel and former 50's PI - but I had a hard time connecting with leading lady Kit Craig - a newspaper reporter who embraces the 50's nostalgia driven Rockabilly lifestyle and has an attitude that brought to mind Pollyana – so, Kit's chapters would loose me and Grif's would reel me back in.

It took pretty much until the 90 page mark and an attempted murder, and for Kit and Grif to finally combine forces, to even things out - and for me to finally get into the flow. But after that, I got wrapped up in the story which involves an investigation into a murder that Kit knows ties into a prostitution ring and involves a list that names many of Vegas' who's whos as clients. However, the actual truth adds an even uglier and disturbing side to murder and prostitution and while ended up liking the development in Grif and Kit's relationship and the way that the investigation unfolded kept my interest, the ugliness of that truth left a yucky aftertaste to the Taken.

So that aftertaste, when combined with the slow start, makes it hard to give the Taken a hearty endorsement. Still there was enough promise in what Petterssen crafted in her angelic mythos and in the partnership – with a late developing romance – that I will likely check out the next book.