Killer Hair by Ellen Byerrum

ISBN:  9780451209481

Publisher:  Penguin Group USA

Rating:  A

Lacey Smithsonian is a hard driving crime reporter, Crimes of Fashion is her game.  Living in the land of the female helmet hair has given Lacey a plethora of tools to fight these crimes with, but when an apparent suicide smells distinctly like murder Lacey gets in over her head and fast.

I picked up this series because I got involved in the Lifetime movie of this series and I didn’t realize they were books, so being that the written word is my favorite medium of entertainment, I of course had to start at the beginning and to be introduced to Lacey properly.  I’m glad that I decided to pick up this series of books and to build my own relationship with the characters and the author.   I look forward to a long adventure together.

Lacey is a little bit of every woman I know; insecure and secure, smart, sassy, and real.  Byerrum spent a lot of time expressing Lacey’s feelings with words, and my hope is that as this series progresses, Lacey’s feelings will be portrayed and understood without the definition.  I believe that both the character and the author have the potential and I can’t wait to see it realized.

I typically know who the criminal is by the middle of the book, and I am pleased to say that I was a bit wishy washy as far as whodunit, but I was on the right trail.  I just kept bouncing between 2 characters and it turns out they were tied together, but only one was responsible.  I enjoy when an author can make me doubt my choices because it sometimes makes for a more interesting read.

I look forward to many more Crimes of Fashion with Lacey and her motley crew.

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

ISBN:  9780451462800

Publisher:  Penguin Group USA

Rating:  B-

Jane Yellowrock is a the last of her kind, a skinwalker.  However, she cannot define what that truly is.  Inside of her lives and independent personality of Beast, who is a part of her, but did not start out that way.  Jane is hired by Katherine Fontaneau one of the eldest vampires in New Orleans to hunt the Rogue Vampire that is wreaking havoc on their lives and the lives of the local police.  Jane takes no time in making it clear that she is not a fan of Vampires, not even civlized ones.  Will she learn to trust those she hunts in order to save herself and others from this horrible Vampire?

I had a hard time with this book.  It felt like the author had so many ideas and shoved them into one book.  There never felt like there was one true point to the story or to the start of this series.  While I can understand wanting to put everything in, I feel like SKINWALKER would have been better if we were allowed to see one part of the story completely develop.

Having said that I will read more of this series because I am curious to see where it leads.  There was just enough development for me to want to know what happens next.    There are so many possibilities, and that is interesting to me as a reader.