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Precinct 13

(Alex Connor #1)

Tate Hallaway (Goodreads Author)

3.83 · Rating details · 1,497 ratings · 193 reviews

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Trade Paperback, 308 pages

Published August 7th 2012 by Berkley Trade

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· 1,497 ratings · 193 reviews

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Nov 03, 2016 Jody McGrath rated it liked it

This book was a sort of Urban Fantasy book with humor. It was pretty good. The mystery portion was way too easy to figure out, but I mostly liked all the characters. The author only wrote the one book and I don't think it is a series, so that seems weird to me. Overall, it was entertaining. ...more

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Sep 16, 2015 Kate rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-stars, kick-ass-heroine, ebooks, pnr-uf-fantasy-steampunk, standalones

Most certainly a book and author to watch out for. I can't wait to see if this will stay a standalone or turn into a series. ...more

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May 22, 2012 Candace rated it it was amazing

First of all, lets get the genre label cleared up. My copy of the book is labeled as a paranormal romance, but I can tell you that this reads much more like an urban fantasy. The one thing (for me) that differentiates the two is paranormal romance has sex. Well, more descriptions of it anyway. And while we know that there IS sex in the book we see none of it. For me that's a good thing, I like UF better than PNR. However, there is romance and I assure you, you'll do plenty of swooning! And this First of all, lets get the genre label cleared up. My copy of the book is labeled as a paranormal romance, but I can tell you that this reads much more like an urban fantasy. The one thing (for me) that differentiates the two is paranormal romance has sex. Well, more descriptions of it anyway. And while we know that there IS sex in the book we see none of it. For me that's a good thing, I like UF better than PNR. However, there is romance and I assure you, you'll do plenty of swooning! And this opens it up to the younger readers. I would say this is entirely appropriate for mature YA readers (my opinion).

Okay, so have you read Tate Hallaway yet? I love her Garnet Lacey books (though I still need to read the last one) but they are a little bit extreme. I mean, her books teeter on the edge of a little too much, like not realistic feeling anymore, or slightly ridiculous. I still liked them, but I'm pointing this out because this series doesn't seem to teeter quite on the ridiculous. While it's chock full of supernatural beings of every type, it all felt kind of real. And there was funny thrown in without going over the top and touching ridiculous.

So the thing is... I loved this book! First of all, Alex is a great character! It took a bit to warm up to her (like a chapter or two) but then I saw her awesome personality come out and I adored her. She's kick ass and not at all shy. She's been in the dark about the supernatural until a dead body walks out of her morgue. Suddenly she realizes that she really did know more than she thought. She's introduced to Precinct 13, which deals in all manner of supernatural and it's like she's suddenly found her home, her true self and her passion. And she's good at it. She loves it almost right away. It's like she's waited her whole life for it to happen. And while this book has a lot to do with her learning about it and accepting it, it really didn't slow down for her learning or explanations. There was nothing heavy about this book at all. It was constant action and moved along without going too fast and leaving us behind.

Then comes Valentine and well, I can't even say anything about this dude, other than you want to know his secret. Trust me, you do. And you'll love it!

This is one phenomenal world. I loved each new thing that came into play. I was stunned by how creative the author managed to be in a world that's inundated with UF books and supernatural beings. Not everyone can pull off such a big magical feat, but Tate Hallaway did it, this book rocked my socks!

This book was provided for review. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

You can find this review and others like it at http://www.candacesbookblog.com ...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Mara rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Read again on 08/17/2020

I lowered my original 4 star rating to 2 because honestly I can’t rate more than that (and it’s generous...) It’s seriously flawed. I found it lacking in world building, plot, characterisation. The villain was so self evident to be annoying (and no I didn’t remember anything at all from my first read). I didn’t like any character.

It was superficial at best.

3 1/2
I admit I wasn't sure this was a book for me. But I was pleasantly surprised by it. Yes, it is light, but it n ...more

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Jul 06, 2012 FV Angela rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed-for-fiction-vixen, urban-fantasy, read-in-2012

Originally posted at: http://www.fictionvixen.com/guest-rev...

Precinct 13 is the first book in a new adult urban fantasy series by Tate Hallaway, according to the author's website, and categorized as Paranormal Romance by Berkely. I would say this book leans more urban fantasy than paranormal romance. As Tate Hallaway is a new to me author, I didn't know exactly what to expect, the blurb sounded interesting and I'm always open to anything in the urban fantasy and paranormal genres.

When we meet Originally posted at: http://www.fictionvixen.com/guest-rev...

Precinct 13 is the first book in a new adult urban fantasy series by Tate Hallaway, according to the author's website, and categorized as Paranormal Romance by Berkely. I would say this book leans more urban fantasy than paranormal romance. As Tate Hallaway is a new to me author, I didn't know exactly what to expect, the blurb sounded interesting and I'm always open to anything in the urban fantasy and paranormal genres.

When we meet Alex, our heroine, she has just won the position of Hughes County coroner on a bet. Her first day on the job ends with a corpse walking out of her office, a snake tattooing it's self to her arm and the Sherriff directing her to a mysterious office named Precinct 13. When she arrives at Precinct 13 to report the missing corpse she is met by all manner of paranormals who will become her new co-workers and teach Alex how she fits into their magical world. What follows is an adventure of tracking down zombies, dealing with crop circles and mutilated cows and Alex using her ability to talk to the dead to help Precinct 13 solve crime.

It took me awhile to get into this story, the first 75 pages or so were a struggle. I didn't connect to Alex at all. In fact, I found her to be quite annoying and too stupid to live the first seven or eight chapters. Early in the book we learn that Alex has a past with magic, she has been able to "see" magical creatures from an early age. After her and her lover, Valentine, try to kill her Step-Mother, whom she thought was a demon, she is put away in psychiatric ward and Valentine is incarcerated. After years of therapy and being on meds she moves to small town Pierre, South Dakota to start over. So when she is re-introduced to magic and the paranormal community she is still in that denial zone..... And while I can understand her being in denial, I was turned off by her use of sarcasm and out and out stupidity about what was right in front of her face. I mean she watched a corpse walk right off the exam table and had a snake attach it's self to her body just that morning... I wanted to shake her while screaming "take it seriously girl!".

This book seemed to be in two parts, the first part where Alex is all sarcastic wit while trying to deny what is right in front of her face, and the second part where she turns into the super sleuth who seemingly is the master of figuring out clues left by the magical bad guys. I liked the second part much better than the first. Even her sarcastic wit got easier to deal with. As the cast of characters grew and Alex's interaction with them expanded I was more and more entertained. I do wish there was a little bit more romance between Alex and Valentine, I'm hoping that develops more in the future.

I will say that the story got better the further I read. This is an interesting world with some cool secondary characters. It has the potential to be a pretty fun series. I'm intrigued by Valentine, he seems to be a more interesting character than Alex actually. Tate Hallaway has left herself plenty of room to grow with both her characters and her use of so many types of paranormal creatures. This turned out to be a light, amusing read. I'm glad I stuck with it through those first pages. I'll be checking out the next one to see in what direction Ms. Hallaway takes this series next.

Favorite Quote:

"I'm Jack," he said. "You must be Alice."

"Alex, " I corrected.

"I was making a literary reference," he said with a sniff and a London accent. He stepped aside to let me in. "Because, Alex, you're about to enter Wonderland." ...more

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Sep 08, 2013 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it liked it

Shelves: all-the-right-choices, the-fae-are-so-scary, demons-can-be-hot-too, are-you-kidding-me, werewhatevers, magic, reviewed-in-2013, urban-fantasy, so-many-vampires, zombies-zombies-everywhere

Precinct 13 is a nifty combination of urban fantasy and police procedural, quite a pleasant surprise for someone who adores both like I do. Running from her old life, Alex gets a job as Hughes County medical examiner and becomes even more involved in the very thing she fought so hard to run away from – anything and everything supernatural. On her new job, she is forced to work with Precinct 13, a special police division in charge of all paranormal crimes. Alex questions everything about this, es ...more

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Jan 22, 2019 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

A shame that Hallaway hasn’t continued with this series. I really enjoyed the mix of urban fantasy and police procedural.

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Aug 17, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-michelle

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Precinct 13 is funny, full of wit, and refreshing.

Opening Sentence: I never dreamed of being a coroner.

The Review:

I’m new to Tate Hallaway as an author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The cover is interesting with the many faded symbols all throughout the background. The blurb on the cover, under the title, says “The dead have tales to tell. And sometimes they just won’t shut up.” I knew I was going to enjoy this, and that Hallaway would tur ...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Kt rated it really liked it

Shelves: received-for-review, hardcopy

Review originally posted on my blog: A Book Obsession..

Through a funny set of circumstances, Alex Conner finds herself in a new job as the Hughes County Coroner. Considering there hasn't been any murders in the area for over two years, Alex thinks she's in for an easy paycheck. But those ideals quickly go out the window when a corpse comes in with a cryptic warning about magic. With Alex's troubled past involving magic and the psychiatric ward, she thinks she's become the brunt of a nasty joke, Review originally posted on my blog: A Book Obsession..

Through a funny set of circumstances, Alex Conner finds herself in a new job as the Hughes County Coroner. Considering there hasn't been any murders in the area for over two years, Alex thinks she's in for an easy paycheck. But those ideals quickly go out the window when a corpse comes in with a cryptic warning about magic. With Alex's troubled past involving magic and the psychiatric ward, she thinks she's become the brunt of a nasty joke, at least that is until some very strange things happen ending with the corpse getting up and walking away. Her chief sends her straight to Precinct 13 where she learns that magic and paranormals exist after all, and she may just be one of them.

I was really impressed with Tate Hallaway's world building in Precinct 13. There was a plethora of supernatural characters that should have been overwhelming, but weren't due to the way things were handled. Each new element was introduced to Alex, and due to her acceptance were easily taken in stride as it they were directly tied into whatever she was currently facing. There wasn't a single info-dump, which was rather impressive considering the very large amount of things that needed to be covered in such a short amount of time. In fact the entire story was paced very well with no dull or slow moments keeping me sucked in the entire time.

I really loved the characters in this book, Alex most of all. She is incredibly tough and doesn't take nonsense from anyone. Most people would have collapsed long ago under the extreme stress of being told she was literally crazy for seeing and believing in magic. All the years of therapy and anti psychotics definitely took a toll, but she came out the other side much stronger. In fact when she learns that magic is real, she only protests for a short while before accepting it and getting down to business with her case. This is where she really shines as her drive and determination make for the perfect investigator. As far as the rest of the characters go, each one stood out, being well developed and fully realized. The many different personalities at the Precinct made for a very interesting rag tag team, that only furthered my enjoyment of the book as I watched the dynamics between them play out. However, aside from Alex, one character really stood out. There was just something so mysterious and rather yummy about Valentine, that I loved him from the moment he arrived, and the reveals centering around him only made me love him even more. Take my word for it, he is awesome!

I really enjoyed Precinct 13 and felt it was a great opener to this new series. Everything from the characters to the incredible world felt fresh and unique making Precinct 13 a stand out in the Urban Fantasy genre. This is one new series you won't want to miss! ...more

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Jan 16, 2021 Mary rated it liked it

Shelves: paranormal, paper, series

I like the story. Couldn't really keep up with the characters, and the plot was messy. (Who was a murderer? How many cases did they have? Not sure.) Interesting enough to try another one. ...more

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May 11, 2018 John rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this bright, clear, lively first-person narrative full of interesting, well-rounded characters and twists I didn't see coming in the fast-paced action; there were only two reservations that kept me from rounding the rating up to five stars, but more about that later.

The publishers seem to be calling this a paranormal romance (PNR), but in my view it's solid urban fantasy with none of the usual PNR features: Alex (the narrator) and Valentine have been lovers for a long time, the I really enjoyed this bright, clear, lively first-person narrative full of interesting, well-rounded characters and twists I didn't see coming in the fast-paced action; there were only two reservations that kept me from rounding the rating up to five stars, but more about that later.

The publishers seem to be calling this a paranormal romance (PNR), but in my view it's solid urban fantasy with none of the usual PNR features: Alex (the narrator) and Valentine have been lovers for a long time, they were forced to separate, and when the story begins they get back together, reestablish their relationship, and take it to a surprising new level. That's important but it's only one part of Alex's story, which has her interacting with just about every supernatural being you can think of as she works with the Precinct 13 team to solve two mysteries.

I think "Precinct 13" is a shout-out to the wonderful Warehouse 13 TV series, which was probably in its third season when this book was written. If you saw the show, you may remember the secret warehouse of magical artifacts was hidden in a remote part of South Dakota, and Precinct 13 is a magically disguised police station set up to contend with "the unnatural" in--of all places--the capital of South Dakota! There's a shout-out to Doctor Who too: Jack the Precinct 13 technomage named his magpie familiar Sarah Jane Smith and tells Alex, "Well...she is my companion."

Alex has been through the psychiatric wringer, institutionalized and still on heavy anti-psychotic drugs, convinced that the paranormal visions she's had since childhood are delusions, when she takes her therapist's advice to leave Chicago for new surroundings and new friends and arrives in Pierre, South Dakota at age 26. With an undergraduate degree in forensic science, she takes a bet to run for county coroner and wins because voters rejected the incumbent. Her first autopsy, though, turns into a frightening, life-changing pair of magical events: the corpse rises, speaks, and leaves the morgue carrying its liver; and (view spoiler). Alex has to report the first of those events to the chief of police, who sends her to work with the team at Precinct 13...and off we go!

Reservation #1: in the first hour or so at Precinct 13 Alex discovers the whole paranormal universe and learns she was never mentally ill; a sympathetic touch from the team's golem and she sobs her heart out, as you might expect, but then suddenly she's a full team player as though she'd been at it all her life, interacting sagaciously with some delightful partners (including the golem, a half-fairy prince, a werewolf-vampire hybrid, the technomage and his magpie familiar). Too quick?

Reservation #2: populations from the 2010 census, rounded off: USA, 309 million; South Dakota, 814,000; largest city Sioux Falls, 154,000; capital Pierre, 14,000. What a hotbed of supernaturals little Pierre is, warranting a whole major police organization just to take out the bad ones! Too many in too tiny a city? and nobody senses anything odd?

But #1 and #2 are outweighed by neat twists and surprises, enjoyable characters, and an exciting plot with brilliant touches (especially the solution to the fairy circles mystery). Recommended! ...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Kristen rated it really liked it

Shelves: zombie, fae, mystery, magical, witches, romance, shapeshifters, vamps, urban-fantasy, paranormal

GENRE: Urban Fantasy
THEME: Zombies/Vampires/Werwolves/Fae
RECEIVED: Received for review from Penguin
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
Precinct 13 I found to be a huge bundle of fun and a great new urban fantasy series that includes every kind of paranormal being there is. I haven’t read anything by Tate Hallaway yet, but if this series continues I’m definitely going to get the next book. I loved the characters, humor and really interesting plot.

Precinct 13 follows Alex, who made a be GENRE: Urban Fantasy
THEME: Zombies/Vampires/Werwolves/Fae
RECEIVED: Received for review from Penguin
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
Precinct 13 I found to be a huge bundle of fun and a great new urban fantasy series that includes every kind of paranormal being there is. I haven’t read anything by Tate Hallaway yet, but if this series continues I’m definitely going to get the next book. I loved the characters, humor and really interesting plot.

Precinct 13 follows Alex, who made a bet with her best friend and soon ended up as the new county coroner. Little does she know that her new job is going to take a major one eighty and bring back things that she was trying to forget. All her life she was told she was crazy thinking magic was real, until one of her corpses gets up and walks away, thus meeting the crew in Precinct 13. She works with the precinct to find the body and stop whatever havocs it might bring.

Alex was hilarious; I love when the female lead has not only spunk but also a great sense of humor. She gets the shock of her life when she discover that she may have some magic of her own, along with an interesting new tattoo. Her character becomes more important and powerful as the book moves on and I’m curious to see how her power develops later on. Even though they were short scenes I loved her interactions with her best friend Robert that made me laugh and wish he was in more scenes.

Precinct 13 itself is full of some great colorful characters, which includes a technomage, whom I loved even more because he wears a Yoda hat, a fairy prince with an attitude problem and a werewolf/vampire fellow who I found very amusing. The whole gang working together makes for some great scenes because they just get a bit crazier and more exciting as the get deeper into the case.

Then there is the mysterious tall dark and handsome Valentine, Alex’s longtime lover and the person who told her about magic. He is her protector and so much more, which I wont give away. I enjoyed what he brought to the story and how what he is makes Alex even that more powerful.

Overall I enjoyed this series; there were a couple gaps that I hope Hallaway will dive into in the next book. She mentions Alex’s stepmother who put her in therapy and that she could be something paranormal too. Also with the mention of Alex past, I wished we could of started more from the beginning of her meeting Valentine instead of him just popping into the story. But nonetheless I did enjoy this new series and the world created was so full of fantastic details, creatures, romance and humor that Hallaway really brought it to life.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is an urban fantasy series and has some minor sexual content. Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison will enjoy this new world in Precinct 12 by Tate Hallaway.
...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Heather Book Savvy Babe rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-on-blog, urban-fantasy, witches-magic, book-bonanza-2012

With a reluctant heroine, a colorful cast, and supernatural occurrences taking over, Precinct 13 is an paranormal read that urban fantasy readers will not want to miss.

Alex Connor has been convinced that something is wrong with her. She has always been able to “see things,” but after lots of therapy, medications, and moving to a small South Dakota town, Alex thought she could finally leave her past behind. She begins her new job as the coroner, and once she experiences her first case where the d With a reluctant heroine, a colorful cast, and supernatural occurrences taking over, Precinct 13 is an paranormal read that urban fantasy readers will not want to miss.

Alex Connor has been convinced that something is wrong with her. She has always been able to “see things,” but after lots of therapy, medications, and moving to a small South Dakota town, Alex thought she could finally leave her past behind. She begins her new job as the coroner, and once she experiences her first case where the dead body bespells her and walks away, her life will never again be normal. Alex is directed to the mysterious Precinct 13, a supernatural police force. It turns out that there is much more going on in the South Dakota town than meets the eye, and the supernatural does indeed exist.

I really enjoyed this urban fantasy. I like the heroine a lot, I feel for her and am simultaneously frustrated with her at the same time. Alex had been accused of being crazy her entire life, to the point of being medicated. So, when she is confronted with proof that she was not crazy all along, the poor girl has a tough time. She holds onto some denial, but she manages to make a place for herself in the Precinct and she begins to show more supernatural abilities of her own. There is a random quality to the magic (especially Alex’s) and the supernatural in this book that provide humor and kept my attention.

The secondary characters are all very interesting too. There are supernatural beings of all kinds and entities in Precinct 13, and I enjoyed the variety and the uniqueness to each of them. Valentine, Alex’s quasi-boyfriend, is a very intriguing character. He is big and bad, but he is not overly dominant of Alex. Alex proves that, even when she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she can take care of herself.

There is a good balance between humor, action, and plot that made this book stand out as a good urban fantasy read. While there are still some open ends to the story, I would love to see a series develop out of Precinct 13, to tie up more questions and to get to know the characters more. I am curious to see how Alex develops and grows as a character. Plus with a job as a coroner, there is definite potential for all kinds of stories to come.

Urban fantasy and paranormal readers, I highly recommend giving Precinct 13 a try. This was the first book I have read by Tate Hallaway, but definitely not the last.

*I received this book for review* ...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Marsha rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Adults

(2.5 Stars) When I first read the summary for "Precinct 13" it sounded like a book I could truly enjoy. The overall concept was intriguing and had such potential; unfortunately, the book proved to be a mediocre read for me.

Alex Conner's roommate Robert has bet her to run for office as coroner in Pierre, South Dakota. This is an elected office and the previous coroner was outsted for corruption. So, Alex places her name in the hat for the $60k a year job and actually wins the election. Her first (2.5 Stars) When I first read the summary for "Precinct 13" it sounded like a book I could truly enjoy. The overall concept was intriguing and had such potential; unfortunately, the book proved to be a mediocre read for me.

Alex Conner's roommate Robert has bet her to run for office as coroner in Pierre, South Dakota. This is an elected office and the previous coroner was outsted for corruption. So, Alex places her name in the hat for the $60k a year job and actually wins the election. Her first day on the job proves to be quite disconcerting when a body is rolled into the office and the cops inform her to avoid opening the chest cavity or risk releasing magic. Since Alex is taking prescription medications for a myriad of phychoses she thinks someone has tapped into her background to discover her little vacation to the sanitarium.
Soon she discovers that the officer's advice had merit when the body walks out of the coroners office leaving her with a bad snake tattoo.

Alex learns that Pierre, South Dakota is more than just a sleepy little town. It is filled with magical folks and magical crimes; so much so, that there is a special unit to handle it, Precinct 13. She quickly becomes a part of this team in an attempt to locate missing body. With all of the crazy going to, the return of her ex-lover, Valentine only adds another layer of madness to the mix.

As I stated earlier, this book had such potential but relied too heavily on the ideas and chessy reference to movies and fairy tales. There are references to gollums and The Lord of the Rings, Sparkly vampires in Twilight, the ability to erase people's memory from Men in Black, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland etc. It was not very original and the characterizations, world building, and relationships were cursory and not well developed. For the first half of the book, I thought I might not be able to finish the book but then, it began to get better. However, I never truly felt as if I knew Valentine or understood his relationship with Alex. One minute they are kissing and the next we are back in the office on the next day.

I believe I read a review from a reader that indicated that the author is planning to make this into a series. I am fairly confident I will not be moving on to the other books. It just did not do it for me. However, read it for yourself, most of the other reviews I read were 3-4 stars. It just didn't do it for me! ...more

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May 17, 2012 Bea rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, beas-book-nook, reviews, action-mystery-thriller, urban-fantasy, read-in-2012

Teaser:

The bag dropped suddenly to the ground when the breeze shifted. There was something eerie about it, that was certain. But was it magic? Jack had told me that I'd been seeing magic my whole life, but had been told not to talk about it. In effect, I'd been trained not to see, not to believe.

The bag skittered along the ground. Like some kind of strange, urban animal, it scooted behind the corner of the building, out of sight.

I decided there was definitely something creepy and weird about Teaser:

The bag dropped suddenly to the ground when the breeze shifted. There was something eerie about it, that was certain. But was it magic? Jack had told me that I'd been seeing magic my whole life, but had been told not to talk about it. In effect, I'd been trained not to see, not to believe.

The bag skittered along the ground. Like some kind of strange, urban animal, it scooted behind the corner of the building, out of sight.

I decided there was definitely something creepy and weird about all this. I would keep an open mind.

My Thoughts:

I've read Hallaway before and didn't really enjoy it; her humor didn't appeal to me. But I liked the sound of this book, a sort of CSI/X-Files but with overt paranormal elements. I'm glad I decided to read it, I enjoyed it. The pacing was clunky at times and there were times that I wished Hallaway wouldn't dribble out info like it was going extinct but overall, it was enjoyable.

Alex has recently moved to South Dakota and on a dare, ran for the position of coroner, and to her surprise, won. In the past she's had mental problems and now she's trying to start over. But it turns out those "mental" problems were really Alex seeing magical beings. When Alex first encounters magic in Pierre, she's afraid she's losing it again. Even meeting other magic practitioners doesn't convince her at first but she comes to believe and begins to explore her own magical ability. There's a caste system for magic users and to her dismay, Alex is distinctly in the lowest, allegedly inferior, caste.

It's an intriguing world, with characters who are likable and an interesting magic system. The mysteries are meh, and the Precinct police seemed incompetent at times but Hallaway made that latter part of the story and accounts for it. There are some twists and turns, a few predictable events, but Hallaway writes an engaging story. On her website she mentions that this may be the start of a new series. I hope so, I'd enjoy reading more about these characters and seeing how she pulls off a magical community in such a small town.

I received both an ARC and a finished copy from the publisher for review. The review is based on the finished copy. ...more

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May 20, 2012 Michelle Greathouse rated it it was ok

Precinct 13 is a Paranormal Romance by Tate Hallaway from Berkley Trade.

Blurb:

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment...

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing wi ...more

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Jun 27, 2014 Lokki rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2014

PRECINCT 13 is a cute medical examiner meets police procedural mash-up urban fantasy. Due to it's lighter approach and mild romantic elements, the publisher bills it as a paranormal romance, but quite frankly it's a little too PG-14 for that genre. What it is though, is a light, entertaining read.

The story centres on Alex, a med-school drop-out who made a bet with her best friend and suddenly finds herself working as the new county coroner in Pierre, South Dakota. Little does she know that her n ...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Stacy rated it liked it

Shelves: from-publisher-author

Alex is nominated to be the Hughes County Coroner on a dare. She hasn't had a crazy life so far so when her very first day on the job a corpse gets up and walks away she isn't quite sure how crazy she actually is.

Alex had a great personality and was fun to read about. There was a lot of times where Alex mentioned her past or a past event but they were only hinted at or slightly mentioned and it would have been nice to know the details of stuff that affected her so much. I felt like I missed a bo ...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Ornella (Nyx) rated it really liked it

Shelves: stand-alone

Ah, such a refreshing book. It had action, romance, a SMART MC, not like those ditzy Mc's you see so much, where they are supposed to be smart yet they miss the most obvious things. Plot actually moved along quite nicely, the only Duh! moment was what Valentine was, but she still knew she just didn't really want to accept it. I really liked how she got over he denial of magic in a timely fashion, she didn't spend most of the book whining about all her insecurities. But it wasn't like she was mag ...more

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May 29, 2013 Glinda Harrison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, urban-fantasy, owned, paranormal-mystery

I loved this book! In fact, I devoured it in less than a day. The book is pitched as urban fantasy meets police procedural and it is certainly that. It is also pitched as a paranormal romance and, while I don't generally enjoy paranormal romance, this one was quite enjoyable.

Some of the reviews of this book that I have read talked about not liking the protagonist. I actually found her quite believable, especially based on her back story. I thought the all the characters were interesting and uniq ...more

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Feb 18, 2014 Jasmine Lopez rated it did not like it

Completely forgettable. It was on my bookshelf and I thought, hmm I should read that, but as I was reading I realized I'd read it before. The characters are really flat. The main character has been taking anti psychotics because she can see magic in the world and has been through horrible things. When she discovers that magic is real and she's not crazy, she has a moment of confusion, but then she just goes for it. There's no lasting angst or internal conflict or resolution. It's just bland. The ...more

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Mar 13, 2015 Chris rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, 2015, ebook, done, from-library

2.5 stars. Ok paranormal romance about a woman who moves to Pierre, South Dakota, to get away from an "unhealthy influence" who'd encouraged her "delusions" that magic was real. After she gets elected as coroner, she discovers maybe she isn't quite as delusional as she thought... This book seemed to be trying to cram in an awful lot of plot and subsequently felt like it was all over the place. ...more

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Apr 28, 2016 Simone rated it liked it

Everything was a soooo convenient, the MC figured out everything even though she has zero experience as a detective. I even thought this would end with her waking from a coma or something like that to justify the convenient plot. 3 stars because it's still entertaining. ...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Rachel- Goodbye Borders rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2015

Enjoyable lead and secondary characters. It got a little rushed at the end, but I liked the world this was set in. Easily would have worked as a series (this is a stand alone).

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Oct 15, 2017 Gary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, urban-fantasy

The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that there is no sequel, and there needs to be a whole series of them. :)

Really enjoyable read. I was sucked in from page 1.

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May 06, 2019 Kreela rated it really liked it

Shelves: new-adult, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy, witches, superhero, quirky

What do you do with a forensic science degree and no job? Run for office! ....Okay, that is not what I would have done, but it was so well done that I just could not stop reading. Alex is cool. She is not a superhero, and she has a firm knowledge of experimentation, examination, recording observations, and other logic. In a small town, she does not expect much work, but a body arrives on her first day. Without an assistant, she somehow picks up her big-boy britches and performs the autopsy. Howe ...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Dangerous Romance Book Reviews rated it really liked it

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment...

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school c Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment...

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off.

After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like her. Now, Alex is being encouraged to use her ability to speak to the dead to solve crimes. And despite being in the middle of nowhere, Hughes County sure does have a lot of paranormal activity…

I'm going to admit that when I started reading this book, I kinda felt like I might have landed in the middle of a series and was playing catch up. I haven't read Tate Hallaway's previous books, so I don't know if this character, Alex Conner was mentioned as a side character in another series or not. Either way, it didn't take me long to get past that feeling and land smack dab in a wonderful, smart, sexy and hilarious new world.

Alex has a past. A past that is alluded to and takes us all awhile to figure out. I don't want to spoil it because it is part of the fun of figuring out along with the rest of the mystery. But because of this past, she has cut all ties with her family, her friends, and in paricular....a very special friend. She has moved to a small town, Pierre, South Dakota, in the middle of the Midwest, almost like she is in the witness protection program (she's not). A girls gotta eat however, so when she figures out that in many small towns, the Medical Examiner/Coroner's position isn't one where the most qualified Forensic Pathologist is hired, but instead it is an elected position that almost anyone can run for, she basically throws her hat in the ring on a bet with her roommate. After all, in this economy, a job that pays 60K a year with benefits is something to consider, even if it means cutting up dead people and it isn't like she is totally unqualified, she graduated with a degree in Forensics. How was Alex to know that the current Coroner, who had held the position for decades, was completely corrupt and his nefarious ways were discovered before the election. Alex Connor won in a landslide, on a bet.

Life in Pierre, South Dakota is quiet. There had been 1 murder in 70 years, so other then the occasional autopsy, she felt certain she was going to be drawing a healthy paycheck for a job with little stress. Three weeks into her new job however, two police wheel a suicide into her morgue and make some not funny jokes about the dead guy maybe being magic and she should be careful of spells when she cuts him open. She is furious, thinking they are making fun of her (due to her mysterious past), and after throwing them out, proceeds to do her job and NOT do what the cops warned her about. Seems she should have listened, cause her first body on the job...gets up and walks out the door, after throwing something at her that sticks to and adheres to her skin, looking like a snake tattoo. A snake tattoo that moves.

All this is adding up to the worst day on the job ever. Alex has to go tell the police chief that she has a missing body. She expects him to ridicule her when she explains what happened, or at the very least, call for guys in straight jackets to take her away. Instead, he gives her a name (Precinct 13), and tells her to go to another office, that they are in charge of mysterious happenings in the county. Alex, confused and freaked out, finds Precinct 13 and is quickly introduced to a group of crime solvers who all have something in common. They believe in magic, can all do something magical that is useful in solving crimes, and they want her to join them. Seems the dead body that walked away, is a very bad dude who needs to die....again.

This is all a little more than Alex can take, and she sneaks off and calls the one man she swore she'd stay away from, the man her Doctors and family swore she must never contact again....Valentine, and once he arrives, the fun really starts up.

This was a delightful book. It was a hilarious, snarky adventure that read like a magical CSI. The main character started out uncertain and alone and by the end of the book, she was a confident woman who knew who she was and what her place in the world was, and she was surrounded by co-workers and friends and a lover who is a fantastic addition to the plot. Every girl who wants magic in her life, should have a Valentine. For some reason they are marketing this book as Parnormal Romance; and in my mind it is clearly Urban Fantasy with a strong romantic subplot, since there is actually very little sex, and it is implied rather than explicit, but in this case, less is more. I LOVED Valentine and his secret. His character was so well written. I feel this book would be fine for older Y/A. There is the whole "dead people talk to her" thing, which could make it seem like a story heavily influenced by that TV show I for one loved, called "Tru Calling," but actually the whole talking with the dead thing is really really not a big part of the plot. It is much more about Alex using her intellect and solving problems with the help of a team.

Precinct 13 is one of those books that I never saw coming, it just showed up one day from Penguin. I didn't read pre-press, didn't know the author, had no idea what I was getting into, but wow am I glad I found it. I can't wait to read the further adventures of Precinct 13, Alex Connor and Valentine.
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Aug 20, 2017 Snarktastic Sonja rated it liked it

I really, totally, thoroughly enjoyed this one. So, why only 3 stars? Well, in THIS case, because it is a stand lone. As far as I can tell, no further books have been written. This one ends with too many unanswered questions for me to give it more than 3 stars. Which is sad. Because I really enjoyed the characters and the story here. It actually had some twists that surprised me (though they likely should not have . . . ) And some I saw coming from *miles* away. And, these made me happy and my h ...more

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Oct 12, 2017 Stuart rated it it was amazing

This is a delightful book that I quite enjoyed. Other reviews have done little summaries, but I'll give a different perspective. I'm a hard-sci fi guy who really doesn't like fantasy because I'm not a fan of magical solutions to problems. (I write this despite the fact that I play Dungeons and Dragons). I think that all too often authors will use magic as a type of deus ex machina solution to a problem. Yes, hard sci-fi does the same thing some times and it drives me crazy there too.

Anyway, so I ...more

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May 21, 2018 Bev rated it it was amazing

Love! ❤️! Love!
This could be a great series of books as tthere are so many good possible story lines leading-from the main story.
I also thought there could be a prequel. What happened between Valentine and his love before they moved . Makes me curious...
Urban Romance is done well in this case.
I’m sorry to say that some short sighted-publisher has not picked up to make this a series
You can find for-the author has continued to write in Wattpad

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About Tate Hallaway

Tate Hallaway

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A Scorpio with a Leo Rising, Tate Hallaway is an amateur astrologer and practicing Witch. Tate has been a fan of vampire fiction since she first read Poppy Z. Brite in high school. Her first short fiction acceptance was to a vampire ‘zine called Nocturnal Ecstasy Vampire Coven. Tate lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with three black cats.

This author also writes science fiction under the name Lyda Mor ...more