Release Date: September 10, 2015
A small town Sheriff, a French Priest and an Internet genius are unlikely allies joined in the fight against the blood diamond trade, human trafficking and the threat of ISIS. When the threat comes home can they stop an impending terrorist attack before its too late?
Pretty Little Creatures is the second novel in the Challenged World Series.
I was given a copy of this novel by the author in exchange for my review.
I have not read the first book in the Challenged World Series, and the second book left me feeling as though I’ve missed a lot both in character development and connection. The idea of normal people charged with superhuman tasks is a common theme in thrillers, while perhaps the paranormal aspect is a bit of a twist that leaves to the reader to decide if it’s welcome or not.
The main characters are all definitely working hard at being unique. Francois is a French Priest with custom Converse who is as invested in his style as a teenager looking for the in-crowd. Cole is a long-standing, small-town sheriff with two children and a dead wife. Nadine is an adventure-seeking, computer genius that is in a relationship with Cole, a man with whom she’s never shared a bed, though she stays with him at his home on weekends. When Francois calls with the promise of freeing child slaves working in the diamond trade, Nadine and Cole can’t resist. They are both a little too good at what they do and a bit too straight from the pages of a comic book to be authentic, which leads to a mismatch of styles. There are authors that can break the rules with playing against type, and perhaps the needed elements to give the characters an authority in their world are in the first novel in the series.
There’s a lot going on in Pretty Little Creatures. The story is far-reaching and improbable, taking its characters around the world and tackles dangers inspired by the news of the day. As an example, JoBeth of the CIA appears in the story instantly when it’s time to leave to join Francois, complete with a private jet. In respect of the international scope of the story, Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series comes to mind. As the story progresses, the main characters pick up allies from a CIA killer to the Navy Seals. There are evil organizations, evil people and evil supernatural elements that flood the reader with information. In some respects, the information overload allows the book to flow to a quick read and conclusion, depending on your investment in the story, that is a good thing.
Pretty Little Creatures is called a spiritual thriller. Beyond having a priest as a main character, there is a definite religious thread running through the work. The novel is gritty, brutal and imbued with a morality battle.
Did I like Pretty Little Creatures? Not really. It’s not my thing. If you are a person that looks for Christian fiction, Pretty Little Creatures might be the book for you. Give it a shot and be sure to let me know what you think.
Read an excerpt and buy Pretty Little Creatures by Vince Milam on: Amazon U.S. • Amazon U.K. • Amazon Canada
For more information about Vince Milam and his work, visit his website. You can connect with him on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter @vince_milam.