Pretty Little Creatures by Vince Milam

Pretty Little Creatures
by Vince Milam

Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (September 14, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-1517338664
Kindle: 2548 KB
Publisher: Vince Milam Books; 1 edition (September 10, 2015)
ASIN: B0158ZWQ8K
Complimentary review copy
Available on Amazon

Demons & Diamonds!

Confession - I read this book without first reading the first book in the series, The Unknown Element, which our blog friend Paul Duffau reviewed here. I was curious to see if a new reader could pick up the story, and the good news is that, yes, you do not need to have read the first book to enjoy this.

The first character we meet is French priest Father Francois Domaine, who is an absolutely delight, being in manners a cross between Hercule Poirot and Doctor Who. But instead of solve mysteries or travel through time, Father Francois is a Hunter. He battles evil, demons that walk the earth. He has a sixth sense that helps him detect evil.

Father Francois gets back-up from his secular friends Cole, a Texas Sherrif, and Nadine, a white-hat hacker. He first ropes them in because he needs their help in dealing with with "Demons & Diamonds!" I gather that they all met and bonded in the first book. Cole and Nadine are dating now, in the old-fashioned sense, and some time is spent on the issue of of Nadine wanting their relationship to go to the next level.

In Pretty Little Creatures, their adventure takes them to Africa, right in Ebola country, where orphan children are the victims of a horrible and ancient being. But that's just the beginning of the threat, which will eventually involve ISIS and Mexican drug cartels. And on the good guy side we get CIA assassins and Texas Rangers.

This book was a lot of fun to read. If you like urban fantasy or supernatural thrillers you will enjoy this. A lot of action, and I loved the Western setting of the second half of the book. Unlike in a lot of urban fantasy these days, the main characters are good guys rather than tortured anti-heroes, which is a nice change of pace. Also there is a definite Christian point of view, which I guess is why the author calls it a Spiritual Thriller. One of the sub-plots does involve a personal moral battle, which actually I thought could have used more attention.

This is a great weekend read. But don't do what I did and start here - go and start with the first book, The Unknown Element. The third book in this series, Gather The Seekers, should be out this year.

Reviewed by VM on April 29, 2016