Claire De Lune by Christine Johnson

The Blurb On The Back:

Hanover Falls hasn’t had a werewolf problem in over one hundred years, but when people suddenly start dying in Claire Benoit’s town, panic spreads fast. The gruesome killings are all anyone can talk about at Claire’s sixteenth birthday party, though the only thing on Claire’s mind is gorgeous Matthew Engle chatting and flirting with her as if she’s the only girl there. But that night, Claire discovers something that takes away all sense of normality: she’s a werewolf.

Claire knows she must keep her changing identity a secret, especially from Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. But then a rogue werewolf threatens to put everyone she knows in danger. Struggling to feel comfortable in either skin, and with her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, Claire is forced to make a choice that will change her forever.

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The Verdict:

There’s some interesting world-building here and the feminist take on werewolf mythology interesting, the overall story and characterisation never really grabbed my attention, with the mystery only ever being so-so. There’s promise here for the other books in the series, but the stories really need to have more zip for me to keep reading.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.

The Complaints by Ian Rankin

The Blurb On The Back:

’The Complaints’ – they’re the cops who investigate other cops. Malcolm Fox works in the Complaints and Conduct department, so he’s not a popular man. He’s just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he’s got problems of his own.

Now Fox is given a new task. There’s a cop called Jamie Breck, and he’s ‘dirty’. The problem is, no one can prove it. Fox takes on the job, and learns that there’s more to the Breck case than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when a vicious murder intervenes far too close to home for Fox’s liking ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

It’s a well plotted novel with Rankin using his typical skill to pull together numerous strands and giving it a strong contemporary feel with its look at the economic crunch and property crash. However the subject matter and characterisation are tired and have been done to death before, which means that there’s little new here. It’s an okay read but there’s little enough here that’s new to make me want to read a series based on this character if Rankin goes down that direction.