by Lindy Ryan & Christopher Brooks

Black Spot Books, out now

Britta Orchid has to investigate old and new murders as she tries to find her place in the world…

Finding something new to say about lycanthropes isn’t easy, and one of my favourite series of recent times has been Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld, which kicked off with Bitten (and ignore the TV version and go back to the original novels). Finding another female werewolf-led novel, particularly one that promises to be the start of a new series, which also tries to do something new is also not easy.

Ryan and Brooks ensure that you’re not in any doubt that you’re in a supernatural world (except for the obsession over footwear!) and this errs more towards darker fantasy tropes than you might expect going in – the sassy Britta of the early interrogation scenes is something of a façade, as the flashback chapters demonstrate. There’s a great deal going on, and by deliberately going against certain expected werewolf tropes the authors ensure that the reader can’t be quite sure of how some familiar moments will play out.

Verdict: A dark urban fantasy with some interesting creative choices. 7/10

Paul Simpson