Patch of Darkness by Yolanda Sfetsos
Urban Fantasy released by Samhain Publishing on May 15, 2012
All it takes is one weak seam for everything to fall apart.
Sierra Fox, Book 1
In a perfect world, Sierra Fox would have stayed away from the Council she left years ago. But in this world—where spirits have the right to walk among the living—it’s her job to round up troublesome spooks and bring them before that very same Council.
Though her desk is piled high with open cases, she can’t resist an anonymous summons to a mysterious late-night meeting with a bunch of other hunters, each of whom seems to have a unique specialty. The news is dire: something is tearing at the fabric of the universe. If the hunters can’t find who or why in time, something’s going to give in a very messy way.
As current cases, family secrets, new clues and her tangled love life slowly wind themselves into an impossible knot, Sierra finds herself the target of a power-sucking duo intent on stealing her mojo. And realizing she holds the key to the last hope of sealing the widening rift.
Product Warnings
Spook catching: may contain traces of ectoplasm and otherworldly nasties. Not recommended for those with allergies to ghosts, demons, and with boyfriends who think your power is theirs. While reading, avoid dark patches and stay to the light.
The first thing you will notice about this book is that it is not a true romance. Instead it is a paranormal fiction with some romantic elements. Patch of Darkness is the first in a series of books around the main character Sierra Fox. Sierra is a spook catcher. A spook catcher is sort of a mix between detective and bounty hunter. Her job is to go out to haunted places and ensure that ghosts are following the rules set out for them by society and if not to remove them.
Sierra is a rebel who struck out on her own to take on the mega corporation, using girls with her talents, for their own profit. She doesn’t necessarily play by the rules. But she is also vulnerable because of her time with the corporation and the constant abandonment in her life. She has a justified fear of being used, which makes it difficult for her to trust her judgment and intuition.
Which is where the romantic conflict kicks in. Sierra is torn between the guy she thinks she should be with (current boyfriend, Jonathon) and the hunky private investigator (Papan) with the office above her. The conflict is really a small portion of the book, except for underscoring Sierra’s weakness in regards to trusting herself and ignoring important clues due to her denial.
The real plot of the book involves Sierra being invited to join a group which includes a witch hunter, demon hunter, werewolf hunter, and vampire hunter to help protect this word from paranormal rifts (which allow banished paranormal beings back into this world).
The book involves lots of twists and secrets about Sierra and those around her (no spoilers here!). It did start off fairly slow, which made it difficult to connect with the story. Part of this was that many things just didn’t seem to click in my brain. I had too many questions and not enough answers. By halfway through the book, the answers started coming and my interest in the book really started to rise. I thought the author did a good job of dropping clues to the reader while allowing Sierra to miss/ignore them and it not feel contrived.
Overall, I thought this was a decent introduction to the series. It is a short novel and leaves many questions unanswered about Sierra’s life, but does wrap up nicely the immediate problem. It will be an interesting book for those that enjoy paranormal stories, but it is not a book to read for romance. That is not the focus of the book and is almost an afterthought. But that fits in with where Sierra is at this point and works well within the author’s plan.
Grade: C
Thanks for the great review, I haven’t read this one yet.