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The Darby Shaw Chronicles #1
Emergence
What if...
Murder victims didn't have to die?
The identity of a killer could be 100% certain, regardless of the evidence?
The one person who would do this was a cop, with law and justice first in her mind?
When Darby Shaw's calm world is turned upside down, she wonders how her new abilities to bring the dead back to life will affect her life's desire to become a detective. But being a detective--for homicide, no less--is the least of her worries when the agency in charge of monitoring superhumans takes a heightened interest in her one-of-a-kind abilities.
What if...murder doesn't have to mean forever?
Murder victims didn't have to die?
The identity of a killer could be 100% certain, regardless of the evidence?
The one person who would do this was a cop, with law and justice first in her mind?
When Darby Shaw's calm world is turned upside down, she wonders how her new abilities to bring the dead back to life will affect her life's desire to become a detective. But being a detective--for homicide, no less--is the least of her worries when the agency in charge of monitoring superhumans takes a heightened interest in her one-of-a-kind abilities.
What if...murder doesn't have to mean forever?
95 pages, ebook
First published July 12, 2014
37 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Liberty Speidel
13 books55 followersLiberty Speidel thought she found herself years ago. But she recently discovered she's not the person she believed. Always striving for more understanding of self, Liberty writes tales of people discovering themselves—and others. A native Kansan, Liberty lives with her muggle teenage daughter, hobbit preteen son, and their menagerie of pets.
(And, yes, her name really is Liberty.)
Find out more about her at her website and catch her hamming it up on The Lasers Dragons And Keyboards Podcast.
To join Liberty's newsletter where you can learn about new releases, get exclusive short stories, and find out what she's up to, click here: Fans of Darby Shaw Chronicles.
(And, yes, her name really is Liberty.)
Find out more about her at her website and catch her hamming it up on The Lasers Dragons And Keyboards Podcast.
To join Liberty's newsletter where you can learn about new releases, get exclusive short stories, and find out what she's up to, click here: Fans of Darby Shaw Chronicles.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 10, 2014
(You can watch a video version of this review at http://youtu.be/FrD7VovtxRI)
This book is part Detective story, part super-hero origin story. I am often a fan of genre-blending stories, and these are two genres that are only enhanced by each other's presence.
This book not only introduces a cast of characters, it also introduces us to a near-future world where the police force has been privitised, officers carry stun guns, cars have a hover-mode, and a genetic mutation has created a race of super-humans.
The protagonist Darby Shaw is a likable character. She plays well off her partner Mark. Her ability is fascinatingly unique among superhero stories, and opens up some big implications for the world the author has created.
As an origin story, this book focuses a lot on the discovery of Darby's ability, and her coming to terms with the effect it will have on her life. I am looking forward to seeing Darby settling into her new job in subsequent stories.
The novella format seems ideal for this type of story, and lends itself well to a continuing series.
I thoroughly enjoyed Emergence and am eagerly looking forward to more.
This book is part Detective story, part super-hero origin story. I am often a fan of genre-blending stories, and these are two genres that are only enhanced by each other's presence.
This book not only introduces a cast of characters, it also introduces us to a near-future world where the police force has been privitised, officers carry stun guns, cars have a hover-mode, and a genetic mutation has created a race of super-humans.
The protagonist Darby Shaw is a likable character. She plays well off her partner Mark. Her ability is fascinatingly unique among superhero stories, and opens up some big implications for the world the author has created.
As an origin story, this book focuses a lot on the discovery of Darby's ability, and her coming to terms with the effect it will have on her life. I am looking forward to seeing Darby settling into her new job in subsequent stories.
The novella format seems ideal for this type of story, and lends itself well to a continuing series.
I thoroughly enjoyed Emergence and am eagerly looking forward to more.
July 18, 2014
I'm not generally a reader of either police procedurals or novellas, but I *am* a lover of both the superhero culture and hybrid fiction in general. The thing that really impressed me with this story is the depth of the superhero "world" the author has created. It's firmly grounded in our world, with no extraneous supernatural elements, but she's created a unique and layered culture for her superhuman protagonist. The privatized police enforcement is a great and original angle. I also appreciated the uniqueness of not just the protagonist's power, but the way in which she's forced to implement it and the after effects she suffers for using it. I look forward to the next installment!
June 6, 2018
This ebook was available for free so I grabbed it, WHAT a great book! Darby Shaw loves her job being a police officer and during what should have been a routine call becomes something else. She learns she is a super, all she wants to do is her job, not be prodded by a medical staff to see what her abilities are capable of. She becomes a detective soon after.
REALLY enjoyed the dialogue in this one, so clever! Darby Shaw is SUCH a great character, learning about her super power and keeping the streets safe while policing. I also thought the police banter to be very accurate and interesting.
There is slight profanity, a few uses of the word da**. However, I liked the story despite that and consider this a clean speculative book.
Had to get Book 2, such a great read and ended too quickly :)
REALLY enjoyed the dialogue in this one, so clever! Darby Shaw is SUCH a great character, learning about her super power and keeping the streets safe while policing. I also thought the police banter to be very accurate and interesting.
There is slight profanity, a few uses of the word da**. However, I liked the story despite that and consider this a clean speculative book.
Had to get Book 2, such a great read and ended too quickly :)
August 13, 2020
Reading a new type of story always gives me a thrill. This one did not disappoint. As a lover of detective and procedural crime novels, I was pretty sure I was going to like this one out of the chute. I also happen to be a big fan of science fiction, so this one was a double delight. This new author brings a lot of skill to the table. The characters are engaging, believable and the protagonist is just fun to hang out with. The plausibility of a future where some people mutate into super beings is a fascinating one (remember The Incredibles?) and Ms. Speidel squeezes lots of good juice out of it. This book is short on length but not on content. Buy it and enjoy it. You will not regret it.
August 20, 2015
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The opening was strong, the writing style fun without being sloppy, and the story interesting enough to finish. I expected something supernatural based on the blurb, but it was more up my Xmen alley than the blurb suggested. If I have a gripe, it's that the ending felt a bit rushed. I would definitely read this author again.
October 9, 2024
"Emergence" is a novella of sorts (95 pages) outlining an event that Officer Darby Shaw experienced when responding to a domestic violence call. When she first arrived on the scene with another officer she met in the academy, she found a women who was barely alive. Her domestic partner, a jerk was bragging about how he had killed her. Even with a baby sleeping in another room, he just continues to go on and on about how she deserved to die.
Officer Darby grabs him as she also maintain contact with the dead victim and the woman miraculously comes back to life. Everyone is astounded! When homicide Detective Mark Harmon shows up on the scene and realizes that Darby has brought the victim back to life, he immediately pulls her aside and instructs her to speak to no one until her internal affairs rep shows up.
Darby is put on administrative leave and confined to a hospital for a week while she is pinched, prodded and examined in every conceivable way. She is also visited by the FBI, CIA and other agencies wanted her to volunteer to go into their custody where she will be studied further. She refuses and soon Genova Murphie, from the Superhuman Society of the Midwest. Ms. Murphie outlines her rights as a superhuman and vows to fight for her freedom. This is a very good thing!
It is also good that the Bendex Police Department does not discriminate against people who have supernatural abilities. Darby had taken the detective's exam several weeks prior and they decide to promote her to a detective with homicide. She will be partnering with none other than Detective Mark Herman.
This was a short but sweet read. It was exactly what I was looking for. It is not overly complicated with a lot of unnecessary world building. It is just a descriptive read about a woman who is struggling to make her way in the world after experiencing the trauma of a fourteen old girl who watched her father kill her mother.
I really enjoyed the brevity, the characters and world that Ms. Speidel created. I am really looking forward to reading more installments in this series.
Officer Darby grabs him as she also maintain contact with the dead victim and the woman miraculously comes back to life. Everyone is astounded! When homicide Detective Mark Harmon shows up on the scene and realizes that Darby has brought the victim back to life, he immediately pulls her aside and instructs her to speak to no one until her internal affairs rep shows up.
Darby is put on administrative leave and confined to a hospital for a week while she is pinched, prodded and examined in every conceivable way. She is also visited by the FBI, CIA and other agencies wanted her to volunteer to go into their custody where she will be studied further. She refuses and soon Genova Murphie, from the Superhuman Society of the Midwest. Ms. Murphie outlines her rights as a superhuman and vows to fight for her freedom. This is a very good thing!
It is also good that the Bendex Police Department does not discriminate against people who have supernatural abilities. Darby had taken the detective's exam several weeks prior and they decide to promote her to a detective with homicide. She will be partnering with none other than Detective Mark Herman.
This was a short but sweet read. It was exactly what I was looking for. It is not overly complicated with a lot of unnecessary world building. It is just a descriptive read about a woman who is struggling to make her way in the world after experiencing the trauma of a fourteen old girl who watched her father kill her mother.
I really enjoyed the brevity, the characters and world that Ms. Speidel created. I am really looking forward to reading more installments in this series.
July 16, 2018
This was definitely an easy read, but it took me a little while to get into it. I wanted to like Darby and the side characters, but it wasn't as easy as I would have hoped. What this story needed was a little more content and depth. To me it feels more like a novella and an introduction. I had the same problem initially with Stephen King's first installment of the Dark Tower. That being said, I like the premise and I like the twist of Darby's superpower. And personally I want to see where the author takes this story, for you can see her getting more comfortable with the content with time. I want to see how Darby turns out and the adventures and misadventures that shall happen now that she has super powers. I think the groundwork has been laid for an exciting series and I go into the next one with the confidence that the author will have some strong follow through. Will I read the next in this series? You bet your buns I will.
April 2, 2019
Great beginning
Starts out as a standard police job, responding to a domestic violence call. But there are some twists, like all police departments are contracted out. Time appears to be the near future.
Super Heroes have genetic mutation markers, and are in the midst of a lot of minority rights issues being dealt with.
MC is female, very tiny, but very capable and driven to be a police detective, if she can get past the government alphabet soup types who want to wisk her away and examine her.
Starts out as a standard police job, responding to a domestic violence call. But there are some twists, like all police departments are contracted out. Time appears to be the near future.
Super Heroes have genetic mutation markers, and are in the midst of a lot of minority rights issues being dealt with.
MC is female, very tiny, but very capable and driven to be a police detective, if she can get past the government alphabet soup types who want to wisk her away and examine her.
August 15, 2017
I really enjoyed this take on a police procedural with a superhero twist. It was surprisingly short but I have the other books in the series to follow it with, so I don't mind too much. I'm finding book two is even better, since Darby's power and the background about how supers are treated was established in this one. Go ahead and get the omnibus of Books 1-3.
There may have been some mild language, once or twice. Appropriate for the genre. No gore, little violence.
There may have been some mild language, once or twice. Appropriate for the genre. No gore, little violence.
October 16, 2020
Fun quick read. over much too quickly
November 15, 2023
Excellent concept, well written. I enjoyed it and have bought the next.
September 24, 2015
It's refreshing to read a new author and be caught from the first paragraph. That's how Speidel writes. In Emergence she captures you from the beginning as Darby Shaw learns, later in life than most, she's a Superhuman. When Darby's Superhuman power is finally revealed the shock is immense. My mind wanted to both protect her and watch her fly as she develops her newly discovered ability. Although a very different universe, I find Speidel's work as captivating and fun to read as Alex Hughes Mindspace Investigation series. I will read more of Speidel's works.
January 23, 2015
Superhero type books are normally not my cup of tea but I enjoyed the police procedural part of the story. However,I wish I would have paid attention to the length of the novel. For me it was just too short. I will likely read the next one but without as much expectation for an in depth character development and detailed story line.
December 22, 2016
I gave this book 4 stars based on sheer entertainment and suspense alone. The idea is great and we'll crafted into a story. Looking foward to the next book!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews