Author: Jonathan Maberry

Series: Sam Hunter

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: JournalStone

Pages: 412

Sam Hunter is an ex-cop, who was written up for excessive force one too many times. He now makes his living as a PI. When he takes on a client, he takes them in to his family, and protects them like one of his pack. He means that literally, because Sam Hunter is a werewolf. A benandanti, to be more precise. He takes on a wide range of cases that others wouldn’t touch, but that is his job, and he is damned good at it.

Jonathan Maberry has been on my tbr list for a while, and when I saw this book of short stories, I could not pass it up. Short stories are my favorite thing, and he did not disappoint (unless you count my being disappointed in myself that I have put off picking up Maberry’s work until now!). The characters all had great depth, which is sometimes tricky in short stories. The world building was very well done, as you could picture the gritty neighborhoods, seedy bars, etc, as well as the world with these “others” in it. Maberry’s writing is phenomenal. He knows how to easily break up a desolate situation with a bit of humor (wonderfully dry humor in this case), how to give enough back story and detail in a short timeframe to really get the reader invested in the characters, how to draw the reader in to a world that they do not want to leave. Sam Hunter is, I believe, one of my favorite new characters. I desperately hope that this was just an introduction to him, and that there will be more to follow. Now, you’ll excuse me while I go download the Pine Deep books….