When Detective Sofia Milena finally tracks down those responsible for the grisly murders that have been taking place in her jurisdiction, she is forced to reexamine her position on good and evil; among other things.When a string of gruesome murders break out all over downtown Atlanta, the case falls on the desk of the most promising new detective on the force, Sofia Milena. Along with her strong-armed partner, Eric Bishop, they attempt to locate the men responsible. Thwarted at every turn by the twisted minds behind the crimes, Sofia allows her attention to be stolen away by the overwhelming charm of medical examiner and colleague, Lucian Grey. As a break in the case brings Sofia in contact with those responsible, she is forced to reconsider everything she believes about good and evil; as well as some things she believed to be myth.
Move over Lestat and Edward, there is a whole new breed in town!
Sofia came from Columbia with her parents and has always wanted to make a difference. She saw the corruption where she came from and wanted to be there for the people, so she became a cop, and she is a really good cop, but she is rigid in her definition of right and wrong. Now she is working what seems to be an unsolvable set of case, all linked by vigilante justice. All the victim were well known criminals that had gotten off, escaped charges or beat the system somehow. Bishop, her much older partner isn't sure they need to work too hard to solve this case, he's doing their job for them. This really ticks Sofia off. At the same time as she is messed up in this case, Sofia starts up a whirlwind relationship with the medical examiner, Lucian. Rise of the Dunamy introduces us to a new hero, not your typical strong man, or vampire or werewolf but something a little different and maybe just a little more sexy in a genuis kind of way. James R. Landrum puts together a story with multiple layers so perfectly that you are left wanting more.
Rise of the Dunamy brings a new hero, a breed called the Dunamy, and you are just going to have to read the book to find out about them, but they are genius sexy. So you take this new breed of hero, and toss him with a super straight-laced cop and what do you get? Well to begin with you get a super quick and exciting romance, then you get the ethical questions. There are a couple of layers of ethical questions that goes back and forth, and there is really sound backing for each point. James R. Landrum is a master at taking the conversations of the characters and developing them to much deeper levels, to really get the characters talking about ethics and right vs. wrong. This is an amazingly well written book that I just could not put down, and when I finished I wanted more! All readers will enjoy this book from young adult to mature adult.
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
Rise of the Dunamy by James R. Landrum puts a distinctive spin on a tale of right & wrong and the morality (or immorality) of vigilante justice. It begins like many crime novels. There is a murder – yet another in a string of murders in downtown Atlanta, and the fourth crime scene in the last week. Detectives are summoned to investigate. Sofia Milena and her senior partner, Eric Bishop, respond to the call.
Sofia has been in homicide for nearly two years. She joined the Atlanta police force after early graduation from college with a degree in criminal justice. Offered a high level office position, Sofia opted for a street beat so she could learn the ropes from the ground up. She is principled, and sees the world as black and white, good and evil, right and wrong.
Bishop is a twenty year veteran of the APD. He joined the force right out of high school. He is part of the “old guard”, a third generation cop who sees the world as gray, malleable, fluid.
The case is cleverly referred to as “the cul-de-sac case” because each crime scene “led the case in circles and sent them away the same way they arrived, clueless and empty-handed.” There are no real clues, and no known witnesses.
The medical examiner, Dr. Lucian Gray, is also called to the scene. Lucian is a guy well-liked by all, especially Sofia. Lucian openly flirts with Sofia, while she prefers to be professional in public, flirting with Lucian in private.
When the case temporarily stalls, Sofia asks for Lucian’s guidance. Instead of help, he offers to take her mind off the case by taking her out. As their relationship blossoms, the case unfolds as well.
Rise of the Dunamy is like a pot of gumbo – it has a little bit of everything in it, and it is all good. It is a crime novel with a pinch or two of gut-wrenching horror. It is an urban fantasy with a dash of whodunit. It has a whiff of paranormal flair. And, it is spiced up with a little romance. Getting all of these ingredients to blend together is no easy feat. Just one, in the wrong amount, can overpower the whole dish. But, Landrum, like an experienced sous chef, manages to combine them well and the result is an amazing, creative, unique “meal”.
No, the story doesn’t adhere to the ‘rules’ of the genres from which it samples; but, that’s what makes it so unpredictable, so good. It is part urban fantasy, after all; and as such, the author ultimately decides the rules of the world he creates; he decides what is important, necessary, relevant.
I truly enjoyed Rise of the Dunamy, and I recommend it to all for its originality, its variety, and its humor. Rules are meant to be broken, and Landrum breaks them well. I look forward to the next book in the series. 4 ½ stars
Mr. Landrum's book landed in my hands through unusual circumstances, so I must begin my review by saying that I thought it was a book that had something to do with clan uprisings in the Highlands of Scotland. I had a pretty good chuckle after reading a few pages, and then got stuck in.
Two things about this book stand out. Firstly, this is Mr. Landrum's first novel and secondly, he very bravely chose to write a paranormal romance with a fairly healthy side dish of guns and gore.
The paranormal romance market is heavily saturated by female authors. I've read many of the heavy hitters: Christine Feehan, Lora Leigh, and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
I OCD'ed a few years ago on the genre and found that there were unwritten, perhaps written, characteristics about paranormal creatures. One of the many aspects to this book that I enjoyed is that James Landrum invented his own method of how paranormal creatures sustain themselves. In truth, it was pleasantly revolting.
After reading the book I read many of the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. One of most repeated criticisms: the character, Detective Sofia Milenia, is inconsistent. When we first meet her, she is a well respected officer of the law; aloof and consistent. As the story unfolds, she does come across as irrational and random.
However, my interpretation is that Mr. Landrum was endeavoring to show the range of emotions a woman would feel when confronted with the supernatural, alongside a high profile serial murder investigation. That his reading audience is likely women who have read a lot of this genre is perhaps his disadvantage. Detective Milenia is astereotype.
Many heroines in these types of novels are supernatural beings themselves, and are therefore prepared for anything. When reading other authors I have often wondered how it is possible that love prevails so completely that a human woman barely questions the supernatural and gives herself, body and soul, to a paranormal creature, all for love. I for one would run for the hills.
In truth, the book would be more enjoyable if many of the characters were less caricature. I am very interested in watching Mr. Landrum's story telling skills unfold as he continues to write the series.
When I started reading this novel some eighteen hours ago, I didn't imagine for one minute that I'd be writing my review quite so soon. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what exactly to say, except...
Wow, I really was not expecting that!
This novel starts off as a crime thriller featuring Detective Sofia, her partner, Bishop, and medical examiner Lucian. Their latest case involves the murder of known criminals, followed by strange mutilation of their corpses. It seems a serial killer is on the loose and needs to be brought to justice. With no leads in sight and a partner unwilling to hunt down the person(s) responsible for taking these criminals off the streets, Sophia takes to spending more time in the morgue with the attractive Lucian.
As this story grew and grew with each hour that passed, I grew less and less able to put it down. I doubt I could even tell you what the weather was like today, I was that engrossed! What the author has managed to do here is combine aspects of all my favourite book genres and stir things up a bit; finishing up with a spellbinding novel that encompasses crime, thriller, paranormal, horror and romance in a brilliantly breathtaking way.
I could probably gush on and on, listing everything that is right about this novel, but I won't. Buy it and read it, you will not be disappointed!
Sincere thanks to author James R. Landrum for sending me a review copy of this masterpiece. Hurry up and write the next Dunamy instalment!
As a love story, it was rather long and drawn out, and not seeming to go anywhere, and yet I was happy at how this was resolved in this first book of a series.
As for the Dunamy, it takes a bit of doing to throw away everything we are used to believing about a being, and try to accept something so totally new and different. Maybe that is why they care called Dunamy, to mark that difference, and hopefully, make them easier to accept as a variation of an old legend.
At the end, I was left with more questions than answers. The main question now is, was my curiosity piqued well enough for me to read the next installment of the series. I don't know yet, if I will or not. This first book has not left me feeling that knowing more is an absolute must.
I just couldn't get into this. I really tried, but it was just not for me. I couldn't make myself love the characters, or even really care about them. I couldn't feel the pull between the characters, the romance just wasn't there for me. The Dunamy seems to be a cross between a vampire and werewolf lore, he grows and shrinks back to normal, he is a killer of bad people and eats the muscle of his victim. Sorry, but it just didn't do it for me.
This was a good book....different than the other supernatural forum. I liked it and would read more by this author. Great main characters and storyline. I recommend this book.
The details and descriptions are impeccable. This is one of those love/hate books; meaning you want to agree with what is happening and then you get mad at what is happening.
This was a pretty good book. It was a fast and pretty easy read. I always like a strong female character like Sofia. I look forward to reading more of Sofia and Lucien's story.
It was a wonderful book though it had a few slower parts. Different things were a given but, it also had unpredictability enough to keep reading thoroughly.
Pretty bad. For chapters on end, the author goes on (and on, and on) about the protagonist's love life. Boring. Loses focus. Amateurish. Actually, I stopped reading halfway through because I couldn't stand it. (I hardly ever stop reading before I'm finished, so that's a testimony to how bad this is.)