Chicago, The Windigo City

From the Files of the BSI #4

by Mark Everett Stone

Kal Hakala is the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation’s best agent, but even he needs a break after his last case, which brought him a hair’s breadth from death and killed the fiancée of his best friend, a Mescalero Apache agent named Canton Asate. Kal’s temporary desk-job is nothing less than leadership of the entire BSI. Now it is on his head to assemble teams of agents to fight the latest Supernatural incursions and man up if they fail. Windigo spirits in Chicago are possessing human beings and transforming them into ravenous cannibals. Canton is the natural choice for a team leader because of his knowledge of Native American lore. Is Canton, a legend with a knife, ready to strike again, so soon after his fiancée’s death? What about Kal’s own girlfriend, Jeanie? Can he stand to put her in danger and beyond his protection? Kal is forced to use the BSI’s cutting-edge virtual reality system to see what makes them both tick. Will the experience of virtually living their lives afford him the will to send those he loves into danger? Can an emotionally damaged man who has never led a team and a woman who traveled through time from the 1940s make the cut? For Kal, the choice isn’t easy, but for Canton and Jeanie, it could be deadly.

Genres: Urban Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2013

About the author

Born in Helsinki, Finland, Mark Everett Stone arrived in the U.S. at a young age and promptly dove into the world of the fantastic. Starting at age seven with the Iliad and the Odyssey, he went on to consume every scrap of Norse Mythology he could get his grubby little paws on. At age thirteen he graduated to Tolkien and Heinlein, building up a book collection that soon rivaled the local public library’s. In college Mark majored in Journalism and minored in English. Mark is feverishly working on his next book while his amazingly patient wife, Brandie, keeps him and their two sons, Aeden and Gabriel, in check.

Reviews

[Manda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book and took issue with the narrator's pronunciation of some words. The biggest one for me was "sidhe." The narrator pronounced it "side" which made it difficult for me to pay attention to the storyline.

In regards to the book itself, I liked the Chicago portion of the book. It was from the point of view of a different character than the others, but still a great action packed adventure against fantasy creatures. I didn't care for the beginning of the book where Kal is reliving Canton's early life. It was too forced.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as I did the first ones, but it could have been much better.

[Kevin Hjelden · Rating 3 out of 5]

My biggest complaint about this book is that the first half of it feels like a clip episode of a television show. The parts of the book that are about Kal just have no stakes and were hard to get through. After the book gets into the main story and past the setup, I really enjoyed it.

Also, if you go into this book thinking it's the next book in the BSI series, it's more of a spin-off written from another characters point of view. Just a warning if you didn't notice it.