This book is still the story of the Huntress, Cara, and FBI Agent Roarke, and his team. What makes me believe that this series will just get better and better is that the story expands, and Ms. Sokoloff brings great depth and complexity to a tale that was already very good. Singh and Epps have more time in this book, along with social worker Rachel, and Cara’s cousin, Erin. With their expanding rolls the extra characters enrich the novel.
Plot-wise The Reaper is dead, and Cara is in custody, but there is precious little evidence, and only one witness, the mercurial and unstable runaway Jade, who is also an exceptionally well-drawn character with an expanded role. Cara’s crimes, though unproven have taken on a life of their own, and her story goes viral. She has become a folk hero of sorts, and several times she is linked with La Santisima Muerte, a female folk Saint venerated in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. A group of hackers helps boost the story and Cara begins to morph into an iconic archetypical character, an Avenging Angel. The story grows in depth, and we follow more characters even as Cara and Roarke continue their deadly pas de deux. Ms. Sokoloff hits all the right notes in the way she deals with the story slipping out into the wide world. Her grasp of the societal and sociological aspects of this story is assured, and most importantly, never boring or staid. What makes this so gripping is that even as they are caught up in these grand events both Cara and Roarke are still people, and watching them try to maintain control of their lives, their identities, and their fates, is compelling. Ms. Sokoloff should get extra credit for her skill here. These characters struggle, and take their lumps, but I never got the feeling that they would give up. Both Cara and Roarke have reached the point where they feel like real people, and that is rare. What makes this book so good is that these two solid believable characters are caught up in a story that is quickly getting out of their hands, yet both of them seem to want to just stop. The relationship between the two, always good, just got a bunch better in this book. There’s a real poignancy in their scenes together, and the contrast is only made stronger by a plot that’s as fast as a Cheetah with a rocket strapped to its ass. As far as it goes, you could read Cold Moon as a stand-alone novel, but I would say that you are cheating yourself out of a hell of an experience. So read the first two books, then read Cold Moon. The only problem now is that I have to wait for the next one.
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July 2020
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