Review - Death and Relaxation

This is another great book to get into the Halloween mood.  This book is imaginative and absorbing.  There is some heat/steam in one scene, but nothing really explicit.  Check out my review and see if it is for you.

Author: Devon Monk

Copyright: June 2016 (Odd House Press) 326 pgs

Series: 1st in Ordinary Magic Mystery series

Sensuality: One steamy petting scene

Mystery Sub-genre: Paranormal Police Procedural

Main Character: Police Chief Delaney Reed

Setting: Modern day, beach town Ordinary Oregon

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Book Blurb: "Monsters, gods, and mayhem...

Police Chief Delaney Reed can handle the Valkyries, werewolves, gill-men and other paranormal creatures who call the small beach town of Ordinary, Oregon their home. It’s the vacationing gods who keep her up at night. 

With the famous rhubarb festival right around the corner, small-town tensions, tempers, and godly tantrums are at an all-time high. The last thing Delaney needs is her ex-boyfriend reappearing just when she's finally caught the attention of Ryder Bailey, the one man she should never love. 

No, scratch that. The actual last thing she needs is a dead body washing ashore, especially since the dead body is a god. 

Catching a murderer, wrestling a god power, and re-scheduling the apocalypse? Just another day on the job in Ordinary. Falling in love with her childhood friend while trying to keep the secrets of her town secret? That’s gonna take some work."

Delaney Reed sleeps with her gun and is trying to fill her deceased father's shoes as the chief of police, while still grieving his sudden death.  She is reliable and overworked.  Sister Jean has the intuition ability, sensing when something bad is approaching but sadly doesn't get details with it.  She is a bit more adventurous than her two other sisters, dying her hair various colors. She handles calls for the police station.  Sister Myra has great timing, always showing up where and when she is needed and is calm and collected. She handles forensics for the small police station.  Ryder Bailey, Delaney's teen boyfriend and heart-throb, had been back in town for a year and she had managed to avoid him. Until now.  Cooper Clark, the ex-boyfriend, is a self centered beach bum.  Thanatos, aka Death, decides to vacation in Ordinary and his character is much like a stiff undertaker who learns to loosen up a smidgen.  I love this character as he attempts to wear Hawaiian shirts with his pressed slacks.

Ordinary Oregon is a great setting.  The idea of a beach town that gets the usual tourists plus various mythical gods wanting a vacation from their duties is a tough one to pull off, but Devon Monk did it expertly.  The town has the atmosphere of fog rolling in and crashing surf along with wooded secluded sections.  Great Gothic touches.

Who would want to kill a god on vacation, or was it one of the mortals that didn't know he was not a regular fisherman?  Surprisingly, there are several people that had a motive. I was so involved in the story that I couldn't waiting to read the next page, and the next chapter.

The killer reveal was a surprise and had some tense moments.  Nicely done.  The wrap-up takes a few chapters to tie up the threads of the story to satisfaction.  I am anxious to read the next in the book as I already miss Ordinary and the Reed sisters.

The book is well rounded with suspense, some sprinkled humor, a little steam but not much, and a mix of quirky and serious characters. The world building of a playground for gods is brilliantly handled and the personal struggles of Delaney grappling with grief and loneliness made me invested in the story.

Rating: Excellent - Loved it, it had a good grip on me! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list