From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Prey (Infected, #1)

Andrea Speed

Start date: April 1, 2013

Finish date: April 30, 2013

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

May 13, 2014 Meep rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-paranormal-shifter, cosy-mystery-crime-detective, established-couple

Fascinating original verse, gritty detecting.
Not always smoothest writing, a little repetition and characters not without their biases. Gripping.

Threw me that the book is in two parts, second half labelled 'book two'

.... ....
Very different to standard Shifter fare. This is not an insta-insta romance with alphas and mate bonds... In fact it's more a gritty detective story than a romance. Shifting in this world is an Infection something dangerous, uncontrolled and ultimately deadly of which little Fascinating original verse, gritty detecting.
Not always smoothest writing, a little repetition and characters not without their biases. Gripping.

Threw me that the book is in two parts, second half labelled 'book two'

.... ....
Very different to standard Shifter fare. This is not an insta-insta romance with alphas and mate bonds... In fact it's more a gritty detective story than a romance. Shifting in this world is an Infection something dangerous, uncontrolled and ultimately deadly of which little appears to be known. The lead character Roan is born with the 'cat virus' something that appears to be evolving in some way.

The world feels very real, I could believe it, there's some reference to bands and tv shows that make it contemporary but nothing is pushed at you. Through the mystery the world expands and characters/groups are introduced. It's a big world but I liked that. There's two cases for ex-cop now turned detective Roan in the one book, and for once I had no idea where the trails where going to lead. There's always a feel of darkness just over the horizon.

Not really a romance, our broody detective Roan is in an established relationship with infected Tiger-shifter Paris. Paris is a charming manipulator with the potential to be something very dangerous if not drugs and his obvious love of Roan. There's no sex but the connection between them is very strong and there's heavy suggestion that it'll end in tears due to the low life expectancy of those infected. The characters being gay felt incidental to the story.

I understand this was originally an online instalment fic, and that might explain the occasional choppiness. Some facts/descriptions seemed to come out of sync which makes sense if the verse was being developed as it was written-posted. At the beginning I did feel I was being dropped into this world without access to a glossary and concepts like a 'virus child' were introduced fairly late in the book. Ideally it could have been jigsawed for a better flow of information. But once you've got to grips with the world it's a great read and one I imagine will improve as the series continues.

Think this one will appeal to mystery/crime readers as much as it will to fans of urban fantasy. But I'll warn you; that last line in a killer! ...more

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