The Taken: Celestial Blues by Vicki Pettersson

Posted June 24, 2015 by Literati Lovers in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Taken: Celestial Blues by  Vicki PetterssonThe Taken by Vicki Pettersson
Published by Harper Voyager on June 12, 2012
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction
Pages: 416
Format: eBook
ISBN: 0062064649
ASIN: B006NZDT22
Goodreads
three-stars

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he's an angel, but that doesn't make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he's been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul—Katherine "Kit" Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder—and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie.

Joining forces, Kit and Grif's search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn't Grif's biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife . . .

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OMG, I feel like I need to tell the book and the characters, it’s me; not you; as I closed my eReader on The Taken: Celestial Blue by Vicki Pettersson.  This was a dark, gritty, paranormal thriller read; I felt as if I was in a film noir; as it had a Blue Velvet kinda vibe to the characters and the setting.  Pettersson mixed religion, mythology, sex trade, rape and death into a paranormal mash; that had me riveted at times, and it other times I was shaking my head, and trying to get my baring; as the author wove a very detailed oriented paranormal crime thriller.

The story centers around the death Nicole Rockwell photojournalist and best friend of Kit Craig, reporter.  She finds herself embroiled in the death investigation of her friend, and also a target for murder.  She happens to be a target because the angel Grif Shaw who came to retrieve her friend Nic’s soul, messed up.  In order for Grif to make everything right, he has to retrieve Kit’s soul when she dies, and he has to watch her death as a moralistic lesson, to be more compassionate to the departed.

Let’s just say that things don’t go as planned, and both Kit and Grif end up hunting up murders, corrupt cops, sexual deviants and most of the upper echelon of Las Vegas society, the movers and shakers of the town.  Plus Grif has his own ax to grind with the inhabitants of Viva Las Vegas, as angels who were once men have a back story.

I liked the story best when Kit and Grif were together, and when they were apart the book for me halted, it just didn’t flow as easily.  As the two of them together were a good foil.  The more involved into the details of the crime, the more the book went off the rails for me as the reader.

 

three-stars

About Vicki Pettersson

Vicki Pettersson is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, most set in her hometown of Las Vegas. Though she’ll ever consider that glittering dustbowl home, she now divides her time between Vegas and Dallas,Texas, where she’s learning to like good Tex-Mex (easy) and the Dallas Cowboys (easier than you’d think).

Her most recent release is SWERVE, aptly titled as it’s both a chase book and a hard departure from her fantasy work. A pure adrenaline, white-knucked thriller, Swerve releases on July 7, 2015 — perfect for the novel’s Fourth of July setting. If you’re looking for a romance with little to no violence … this is not your novel. If, as with her other work, you’re looking for a strong female protagonist who comes out swinging when pushed into a corner, then perhaps you can connect.

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