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Shadows Inquiries #2
Ghosts & Echoes
The new urban fantasy series that has readers jumping at shadows.
Chicago cop Adam Wright has picked up a spiritual hitchhiker, the ghost of a dead man who desperately wants to live again. So he turns to supernatural P.I. Sylvie Lightner to rid him of the spirit-a spirit she finds strangely familiar.
Chicago cop Adam Wright has picked up a spiritual hitchhiker, the ghost of a dead man who desperately wants to live again. So he turns to supernatural P.I. Sylvie Lightner to rid him of the spirit-a spirit she finds strangely familiar.
362 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 14, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 11, 2013
I really couldn't get into this, it was unpleasant and angry. I don't need to add those things to my life. The character was angry, and just kept on being angry.
I don't find this sort of book my cup of tea. I want a book for escapism that leaves me satisfied and upbeat. Forget depressed and ready to slit my wrists which is what these sort of books do for me. It's so repetitive in it's anger that it just bores me.
I really can't be bothered with it.
I don't find this sort of book my cup of tea. I want a book for escapism that leaves me satisfied and upbeat. Forget depressed and ready to slit my wrists which is what these sort of books do for me. It's so repetitive in it's anger that it just bores me.
I really can't be bothered with it.
April 30, 2016
I liked Ghosts & Echoes a lot more than I thought I would! This was very different to book 1! No Gods at all just possession and creepy things! I will be reading books 3 & 4
May 3, 2010
This book opens roughly a month after the first book.
I feel kind of ambivalent about the book. I want to like it more than I actually do. Part of the problem is that while I liked Michael, I also really liked Wright and I found the resolution of his problem unsatisfying.
I figured out almost immediately that Zoe was involved in what was going on. I also figured out what happened as soon as Bella revived.
I also think I just needed something more interesting than standard magic. The hand of glory isn't new and Benedict didn't really offer a different take on it.
I feel kind of ambivalent about the book. I want to like it more than I actually do. Part of the problem is that while I liked Michael, I also really liked Wright and I found the resolution of his problem unsatisfying.
I figured out almost immediately that Zoe was involved in what was going on. I also figured out what happened as soon as Bella revived.
I also think I just needed something more interesting than standard magic. The hand of glory isn't new and Benedict didn't really offer a different take on it.
February 22, 2021
So I have no idea when I finished this. Clearly fell behind in tracking things like this...LOL
It was pretty good as I recall. Definitely good enough that I'll be keeping an eye out for the other two books in the series. Aside from that couldn't say much given the elapsed time.
It was pretty good as I recall. Definitely good enough that I'll be keeping an eye out for the other two books in the series. Aside from that couldn't say much given the elapsed time.
March 19, 2011
I was to give this 2.5 stars - between liked it and it was OK.
Review from my book blog (wordpress / livejournal)
I'd read Sins & Shadows about a year and a half ago and have been meaning to read the second book, Ghosts & Echoes for a while, but didn't get around to it until the recent Border's bookstore closings where I picked up a copy. This is the rare urban fantasy where the POV was not in first person, but in third!
The Premise: Sylvie Lightner is worn out after what happened in Chicago recently, and she's taken a long vacation, but she's back in Miami now and back to work. Unfortunately for her, her desire to take on an easy case, one without complications and potential heartache is thwarted by two new clients. One says he is possessed by a ghost, and the other what's Sylvie to catch a band of thieves. Both cases are more closely linked to Sylvie than she is happy with.
My Thoughts: This is an urban fantasy series with a very human heroine. Human but for a special ancestor, which leaves Sylvie with a secret voice in her head that tells her what to do to survive. Otherwise, she is normal, and has to use human means to track down problems in the Magicus Mundi, the supernatural world that most people don't know exists. She is the one people come to if they want strange problems solved. It's a very specialized P.I. service, and one that barely covers the bills, but Sylvie knows a lot about the dark magics and woo-woo that exists in the world. Due to this expertise, she gets two new cases that no one else would be able to figure out. Adam Wright, a Chicago beat cop finds Sylvie through a dream - he has a ghost inside him and wants the ghost out. The other case is a series of robberies, where the thieves seem to be able to walk through walls and doors. Sylvie uses a mix of legwork and special contacts (mixed with a bit of threatening) to solve these cases.
In the first book, Sylvie struck me as an angry heroine. There are reasons for this - it's because of what was happening around her, and because of her own particular genetic legacy. In Sins & Shadows, this worked for me within the story and I wondered how Sylvie would grow over the series. In Ghosts & Echoes, this anger is still there, and yes, it still works when her anger is due to her frustrations in being one step behind in stopping the evil around her, but there were times when her attitude rubbed me the wrong way (and more than it did in the first book). I'd noted before that Sylvie is perfectly willing to be rude for someone's own good (like preventing her assistant from being in danger), but maybe in her home territory, I wasn't expecting her to be like this to everyone. I do think that she tries to hold herself back, but when she is pressed for time, she doesn't have the patience for niceties. Somehow her lack of empathy towards people who weren't her friends and family felt more pronounced in this installment, and I found it more difficult to empathize with her.
This darkness extends to Sylvie's cases. Both of them turn out to be related to her personally. The ghost that is possessing her client is someone Sylvie knows. One of the thieves that are robbing local stores is someone Sylvie knows. Her moral dilemma here is who deserves her loyalty more - the people that she loves, or her clients who need her help. Her choices aren't easy. There was a balancing game, and I think that the consequences reflect real life: it never goes as planned. There is definitely a high amount of emotional charge in this story because of Sylvie's conflict and the personal slant of her cases. I really identified with Sylvie's frustration in dealing with the people involved. This is all good, I want to be involved in the characters lives and to be emotionally connected.
The problem I had with Ghosts & Echoes is that I was ultimately unhappy with how dark it became, which is a very personal reaction. I understood what Sylvie was trying to do and from a logical point of view, I'm not really sure how she could have changed how things turned out, but from a visceral point of view, I like to end a story feeling like although there is bad, the good outweighs it, and in Ghosts & Echoes I'm not sure I liked where the scales stopped. There was a resolution and I'm sure it's a resolution that worked for many readers, if not most, but I was left feeling unsettled.
Overall: A really well-written and gritty urban fantasy. I recommend this series for UF fans who want a realistic story and don't mind a flawed and abrasive heroine. I would put this book in the "like" column for the writing and world building alone, but my emotional reaction to the overall plot (more bitter than sweet for me) puts it in the "OK" column. I'm wavering between my heart and mind on how to rate the book.
I want to know what happens next to Sylvie, but I’d be reluctant to read Book 3 (Gods & Monsters) if I find out that the story continues to be this disconcerting.
Review from my book blog (wordpress / livejournal)
I'd read Sins & Shadows about a year and a half ago and have been meaning to read the second book, Ghosts & Echoes for a while, but didn't get around to it until the recent Border's bookstore closings where I picked up a copy. This is the rare urban fantasy where the POV was not in first person, but in third!
The Premise: Sylvie Lightner is worn out after what happened in Chicago recently, and she's taken a long vacation, but she's back in Miami now and back to work. Unfortunately for her, her desire to take on an easy case, one without complications and potential heartache is thwarted by two new clients. One says he is possessed by a ghost, and the other what's Sylvie to catch a band of thieves. Both cases are more closely linked to Sylvie than she is happy with.
My Thoughts: This is an urban fantasy series with a very human heroine. Human but for a special ancestor, which leaves Sylvie with a secret voice in her head that tells her what to do to survive. Otherwise, she is normal, and has to use human means to track down problems in the Magicus Mundi, the supernatural world that most people don't know exists. She is the one people come to if they want strange problems solved. It's a very specialized P.I. service, and one that barely covers the bills, but Sylvie knows a lot about the dark magics and woo-woo that exists in the world. Due to this expertise, she gets two new cases that no one else would be able to figure out. Adam Wright, a Chicago beat cop finds Sylvie through a dream - he has a ghost inside him and wants the ghost out. The other case is a series of robberies, where the thieves seem to be able to walk through walls and doors. Sylvie uses a mix of legwork and special contacts (mixed with a bit of threatening) to solve these cases.
In the first book, Sylvie struck me as an angry heroine. There are reasons for this - it's because of what was happening around her, and because of her own particular genetic legacy. In Sins & Shadows, this worked for me within the story and I wondered how Sylvie would grow over the series. In Ghosts & Echoes, this anger is still there, and yes, it still works when her anger is due to her frustrations in being one step behind in stopping the evil around her, but there were times when her attitude rubbed me the wrong way (and more than it did in the first book). I'd noted before that Sylvie is perfectly willing to be rude for someone's own good (like preventing her assistant from being in danger), but maybe in her home territory, I wasn't expecting her to be like this to everyone. I do think that she tries to hold herself back, but when she is pressed for time, she doesn't have the patience for niceties. Somehow her lack of empathy towards people who weren't her friends and family felt more pronounced in this installment, and I found it more difficult to empathize with her.
This darkness extends to Sylvie's cases. Both of them turn out to be related to her personally. The ghost that is possessing her client is someone Sylvie knows. One of the thieves that are robbing local stores is someone Sylvie knows. Her moral dilemma here is who deserves her loyalty more - the people that she loves, or her clients who need her help. Her choices aren't easy. There was a balancing game, and I think that the consequences reflect real life: it never goes as planned. There is definitely a high amount of emotional charge in this story because of Sylvie's conflict and the personal slant of her cases. I really identified with Sylvie's frustration in dealing with the people involved. This is all good, I want to be involved in the characters lives and to be emotionally connected.
The problem I had with Ghosts & Echoes is that I was ultimately unhappy with how dark it became, which is a very personal reaction. I understood what Sylvie was trying to do and from a logical point of view, I'm not really sure how she could have changed how things turned out, but from a visceral point of view, I like to end a story feeling like although there is bad, the good outweighs it, and in Ghosts & Echoes I'm not sure I liked where the scales stopped. There was a resolution and I'm sure it's a resolution that worked for many readers, if not most, but I was left feeling unsettled.
Overall: A really well-written and gritty urban fantasy. I recommend this series for UF fans who want a realistic story and don't mind a flawed and abrasive heroine. I would put this book in the "like" column for the writing and world building alone, but my emotional reaction to the overall plot (more bitter than sweet for me) puts it in the "OK" column. I'm wavering between my heart and mind on how to rate the book.
I want to know what happens next to Sylvie, but I’d be reluctant to read Book 3 (Gods & Monsters) if I find out that the story continues to be this disconcerting.
December 30, 2018
Harder to read than the 2 next books but worth it.
May 10, 2011
Ghosts and Echoes is the second book in the Shadows & Inquiries series, and takes place a month after the events in Sins & Shadows where Sylvie helped save a God while killing Lilith, the mother of her lineage, and watched as Michael Demalion died in the process.
This time around Sylvie is looking for a simple and easy case to ease back into things. She has been on vacation, and really is questioning her commitment to keeping her business open. She is still grieving and angry over what happened to Michael, and knows she is partially to blame for his death.
She is also being hounded and harassed by the Miami police department who believes she was responsible for the death of Raphael Suarez. Raphael was her friend and investigator and his death really has screwed with Sylvie’s psyche. Adelio Suarez, Raphael’s father, has demanded answers from Sylvie including what really happened to the cultists who were responsible for Raphael’s death. Note: The God of Justice turned them all into flowers instead of killing them.
Alex Figueroa-Smith has become a full business partner in Shadows Inquiries Private Investigators, but Sylvie she keeps her as an investigator behind the scenes. Mainly doing research and running the office. She’s not ready to lose another friend to those she hunts down and kills especially after Alex nearly died at the hands of a massive snake attack on her.
Sylvie specializes in cases involving the unusual and unbelievable. She has anger issues and is quick to pull the trigger. Her kill rate is off the charts. Sylvie’s dark voice within drives her actions, and you wonder when she will finally lose total control and do something even more dangerous than going up against Lilith, Cultists, werewolves, and an out of control witch.
Sylvie hates the Magicus Mundi since they kill people and operate outside the realm of human knowledge and human law. Sylvie is often aggressive, cynical, over confident, belligerent and a trouble magnet. In Sins & Shadows, Sylvie found out that she’s the descendant of Cain, the first murderer, and Lilith the ultimate disobedient. Of course, after Lilith was turned human, she tossed her off a roof to her death.
Enter Chicago cop Adam Wright who has picked up a hitchhiker in his body that he believes happened after he was hit by lightning and died. Of course, the hitchhiker just happens to be Michael Demalion who somehow was able to get away from the Furies that were sent to kill his soul. Needless to say, anyone who has read this book would have already known the final outcome of this book. So, I won’t dispel any spoilers and give it away.
Alex actually plays a bigger role in this story, as well as her little sister Zoe. Zoe it seems has a secret that she has kept away from Sylvie. She’s a witch, and an untrained and powerful one at that. Sylvie could blame herself for keeping a distance from her and not knowing she’s a witch because of her line of work. But the point is she misses important clues along the way, and ends up time and time again walking into dangerous situations without thinking first.
I really want to dislike this series, but now that I’ve come this far, I want answers and to know in what direction this story will take with the Zoe and Michael story lines among others. I also am hoping that Sylvie is able to mend some of the broken fences and friendships she's lost along the way because of her anger, and her job.
Gods & Monsters was released 04/26/2011
This time around Sylvie is looking for a simple and easy case to ease back into things. She has been on vacation, and really is questioning her commitment to keeping her business open. She is still grieving and angry over what happened to Michael, and knows she is partially to blame for his death.
She is also being hounded and harassed by the Miami police department who believes she was responsible for the death of Raphael Suarez. Raphael was her friend and investigator and his death really has screwed with Sylvie’s psyche. Adelio Suarez, Raphael’s father, has demanded answers from Sylvie including what really happened to the cultists who were responsible for Raphael’s death. Note: The God of Justice turned them all into flowers instead of killing them.
Alex Figueroa-Smith has become a full business partner in Shadows Inquiries Private Investigators, but Sylvie she keeps her as an investigator behind the scenes. Mainly doing research and running the office. She’s not ready to lose another friend to those she hunts down and kills especially after Alex nearly died at the hands of a massive snake attack on her.
Sylvie specializes in cases involving the unusual and unbelievable. She has anger issues and is quick to pull the trigger. Her kill rate is off the charts. Sylvie’s dark voice within drives her actions, and you wonder when she will finally lose total control and do something even more dangerous than going up against Lilith, Cultists, werewolves, and an out of control witch.
Sylvie hates the Magicus Mundi since they kill people and operate outside the realm of human knowledge and human law. Sylvie is often aggressive, cynical, over confident, belligerent and a trouble magnet. In Sins & Shadows, Sylvie found out that she’s the descendant of Cain, the first murderer, and Lilith the ultimate disobedient. Of course, after Lilith was turned human, she tossed her off a roof to her death.
Enter Chicago cop Adam Wright who has picked up a hitchhiker in his body that he believes happened after he was hit by lightning and died. Of course, the hitchhiker just happens to be Michael Demalion who somehow was able to get away from the Furies that were sent to kill his soul. Needless to say, anyone who has read this book would have already known the final outcome of this book. So, I won’t dispel any spoilers and give it away.
Alex actually plays a bigger role in this story, as well as her little sister Zoe. Zoe it seems has a secret that she has kept away from Sylvie. She’s a witch, and an untrained and powerful one at that. Sylvie could blame herself for keeping a distance from her and not knowing she’s a witch because of her line of work. But the point is she misses important clues along the way, and ends up time and time again walking into dangerous situations without thinking first.
I really want to dislike this series, but now that I’ve come this far, I want answers and to know in what direction this story will take with the Zoe and Michael story lines among others. I also am hoping that Sylvie is able to mend some of the broken fences and friendships she's lost along the way because of her anger, and her job.
Gods & Monsters was released 04/26/2011
May 17, 2010
I’ve never met a Lyn Benedict/Lane Robins book I didn’t like, but Ghosts & Echoes is the best of her work to date. There’s a ton of urban fantasy out there, ranging from the stellar to the egregious, but this is the kind of book I like to wave at people and say, “This is what urban fantasy can be.”
Sylvie “Shadows” Lightner is back in Miami, recovering from what she calls the “Chicago clusterf*ck” that took place in the previous novel, Sins & Shadows. Two new cases fall into her lap: a string of magically-enhanced burglaries, and a shell-shocked Chicago cop who carries the ghost of a dead man within him. Neither is as straightforward as it sounds, of course. The burglars’ trail leads Sylvie to some sinister magical transactions that threaten the life of someone close to Sylvie. And the cop’s “hitchhiker” isn’t just any dead man, but someone who knew Sylvie in life.
There are two conclusions that an attentive reader can draw pretty early on. I was briefly worried that this would be one of those books where the protagonist lets the clues fly over her head for 400 pages. Happily, this is not the case; Sylvie comes to the same two realizations pretty quickly and moves along to trying to deduce the how and the why. In the burglary-ring plot, the early revelations are just the tip of the iceberg, with a much nastier scheme lying beneath. In the ghost plot, the real issue is a moral one. Sylvie’s ethics come into conflict with her heart and with the dark voice inside her that exhorts her to look out for number one.
These two plot strands are braided together skillfully. As Sylvie investigates the thefts, she makes some discoveries about ghosts and resurrections and how they work, discoveries that raise the question of whether a satisfactory outcome is even possible in the cop’s case. Sometimes her ruminations on the haunting seem a little drawn-out, but I think that’s the point. She’s putting that case on the back burner, and the more she procrastinates, the worse it gets.
The story is wonderfully creepy. There’s plenty of action and some gore, but the psychological horror is also kept at a fever pitch throughout. The scariest thing, in the end, is just how cold some of the characters are — what depraved lengths they will go to in pursuit of their selfish desires.
Along the way, Sylvie grows as a character. She tries — with varying degrees of success — to tame her temper, to figure out when her defiant streak will serve her well and when it’ll just get in the way of her goals. And she, too, faces the question of how far she will go for what she wants.
Benedict asks the same question, to an extent, of the reader. Sins & Shadows left many fans wishing for certain plot developments. In Ghosts and Echoes, we get something from our “wish list,” but in a twisted sort of way.
With her usual beautiful prose, a clever new take on an old piece of folklore, and a plot that keeps us feverishly turning pages to learn what new revelation waits ahead, Lyn Benedict has written one of the best urban fantasies I’ve read in some time. I enthusiastically recommend Ghosts and Echoes.
Sylvie “Shadows” Lightner is back in Miami, recovering from what she calls the “Chicago clusterf*ck” that took place in the previous novel, Sins & Shadows. Two new cases fall into her lap: a string of magically-enhanced burglaries, and a shell-shocked Chicago cop who carries the ghost of a dead man within him. Neither is as straightforward as it sounds, of course. The burglars’ trail leads Sylvie to some sinister magical transactions that threaten the life of someone close to Sylvie. And the cop’s “hitchhiker” isn’t just any dead man, but someone who knew Sylvie in life.
There are two conclusions that an attentive reader can draw pretty early on. I was briefly worried that this would be one of those books where the protagonist lets the clues fly over her head for 400 pages. Happily, this is not the case; Sylvie comes to the same two realizations pretty quickly and moves along to trying to deduce the how and the why. In the burglary-ring plot, the early revelations are just the tip of the iceberg, with a much nastier scheme lying beneath. In the ghost plot, the real issue is a moral one. Sylvie’s ethics come into conflict with her heart and with the dark voice inside her that exhorts her to look out for number one.
These two plot strands are braided together skillfully. As Sylvie investigates the thefts, she makes some discoveries about ghosts and resurrections and how they work, discoveries that raise the question of whether a satisfactory outcome is even possible in the cop’s case. Sometimes her ruminations on the haunting seem a little drawn-out, but I think that’s the point. She’s putting that case on the back burner, and the more she procrastinates, the worse it gets.
The story is wonderfully creepy. There’s plenty of action and some gore, but the psychological horror is also kept at a fever pitch throughout. The scariest thing, in the end, is just how cold some of the characters are — what depraved lengths they will go to in pursuit of their selfish desires.
Along the way, Sylvie grows as a character. She tries — with varying degrees of success — to tame her temper, to figure out when her defiant streak will serve her well and when it’ll just get in the way of her goals. And she, too, faces the question of how far she will go for what she wants.
Benedict asks the same question, to an extent, of the reader. Sins & Shadows left many fans wishing for certain plot developments. In Ghosts and Echoes, we get something from our “wish list,” but in a twisted sort of way.
With her usual beautiful prose, a clever new take on an old piece of folklore, and a plot that keeps us feverishly turning pages to learn what new revelation waits ahead, Lyn Benedict has written one of the best urban fantasies I’ve read in some time. I enthusiastically recommend Ghosts and Echoes.
January 24, 2013
If you've read Sins and Shadows, then you know that the main character - Sylvie - can be a bit of a cranky person. In the last book, I enjoyed her inner seething rage. It was kind of constant, she was so angry most of the book. In this book, she came across a little more sullen than angry. Not sure if I really liked that part, but the story itself was good - a good plot, a good narration, good dialogue and some suspenseful scenes with creepy factors.
Sylvie's sister, Zoe, has been in a bit of trouble and she gets dumped on Sylvie's watch while her parents take off on a trip. Of course, Zoe disappears - she's a rebellious teen with some sinister associations as well as the same blood in her veins that has Sylvie hearing those dark, snarky thoughts. While this is happening, Sylvie has been having money problems (all the urban fantasy heroines who work for a living seem to have money problems) so her office manager/assistant pressures her to take a simple case that turns out to be not so simple. All the businesses around the area have been robbed without any signs of forced entry, and no witnesses.
AND .... a cop comes to her from Chicago, setting of her last traumatic snafu case where she had to fight gods and the furies of Greek legends. Chicago is still recovering from this event. Turns out this particular cop, Wright, was killed and brought back to life (yeay for CPR), only he doesn't seem to feel himself. He has a passenger on board....a haunt.... Another case that turns out to me not so simple.
The book was well written, the story was a good story and the cases were interesting. The problems that Sylvie has been having with the local police, however, hinder her investigations and she has been being harassed by them. And kind of behaving in a harassed sullen young adult type of way. Because of the reason for their harassment, she gets a little sullen, but she also seems to have a bit of patience for it, understanding the reason and accepting the situations.
There is something in the ending that seemed a bit too convenient - but author's choice, her story; and while it was so very convenient, the reaction from Sylvie wasn't exactly welcoming, it was more critical and "this is not a good thing". The bottom line is that I'm glad I read Ghosts and Echoes and I enjoyed the book, very much. This is a good story, again, with believable dialogue and characters. The cases were solved one way or another, and we've gotten a taste of Zoe, Sylvie's little sister. Even though she was a total teen brat in this novel, seeming to care about nothing but her own wants and needs, she did seem to show signs of hidden depths, possibilities of growth, etc. Zoe's character also seemed more real than many of the teen characters that I've read in other books - some of them so reasonable, it almost seems too good to be true. Zoe's character is promising, and could be an interesting secondary character addition to the series. I have the next in the series waiting for me on the shelf (Gods and Monsters). I believe there are even more in the series waiting for me at the bookstores.
Sylvie's sister, Zoe, has been in a bit of trouble and she gets dumped on Sylvie's watch while her parents take off on a trip. Of course, Zoe disappears - she's a rebellious teen with some sinister associations as well as the same blood in her veins that has Sylvie hearing those dark, snarky thoughts. While this is happening, Sylvie has been having money problems (all the urban fantasy heroines who work for a living seem to have money problems) so her office manager/assistant pressures her to take a simple case that turns out to be not so simple. All the businesses around the area have been robbed without any signs of forced entry, and no witnesses.
AND .... a cop comes to her from Chicago, setting of her last traumatic snafu case where she had to fight gods and the furies of Greek legends. Chicago is still recovering from this event. Turns out this particular cop, Wright, was killed and brought back to life (yeay for CPR), only he doesn't seem to feel himself. He has a passenger on board....a haunt.... Another case that turns out to me not so simple.
The book was well written, the story was a good story and the cases were interesting. The problems that Sylvie has been having with the local police, however, hinder her investigations and she has been being harassed by them. And kind of behaving in a harassed sullen young adult type of way. Because of the reason for their harassment, she gets a little sullen, but she also seems to have a bit of patience for it, understanding the reason and accepting the situations.
There is something in the ending that seemed a bit too convenient - but author's choice, her story; and while it was so very convenient, the reaction from Sylvie wasn't exactly welcoming, it was more critical and "this is not a good thing". The bottom line is that I'm glad I read Ghosts and Echoes and I enjoyed the book, very much. This is a good story, again, with believable dialogue and characters. The cases were solved one way or another, and we've gotten a taste of Zoe, Sylvie's little sister. Even though she was a total teen brat in this novel, seeming to care about nothing but her own wants and needs, she did seem to show signs of hidden depths, possibilities of growth, etc. Zoe's character also seemed more real than many of the teen characters that I've read in other books - some of them so reasonable, it almost seems too good to be true. Zoe's character is promising, and could be an interesting secondary character addition to the series. I have the next in the series waiting for me on the shelf (Gods and Monsters). I believe there are even more in the series waiting for me at the bookstores.
August 15, 2016
(Combined review for book one and two)
I want to like this book. It has everything I look for in a series.
Kick ass heroine? Magic? Crime fighting? Awesome. Maybe a little sexy love interest thrown in? Yes please.
But sadly it wasn't all I expected.
Did anyone else feel like there should have been a whole book or two before the first one? Even beginning the series with book one I felt like I was just thrown into the middle of the series. They always mention problems from the past and just expect you to know everything that happened. I had to stop reading a couple times and check to see if there was a prequel or short story out that told of some of these events before book 1 and 2.
Also, I get that the main heroine Sylvie was a descendant of Lilith so survival and stubbornness was programmed in her DNA (I guess) but she just came off completely crazy, selfish and with anger issues.
After everything that happens, you would expect to sympathize with the main characters after all they have gone through. Nope. All she does is yell, bitch, gripe and make snide comments to everyone around her who is trying to help her and that SHE WOULDNT BE ABLE TO DO ANYHING WITHOUT. Seriously! She bosses everyone around and is rude and mean but still takes all the credit for everything. If she was just an iota nicer and not up her own ass all the time, I bet she would get a lot more accomplished.
Michael (and Wrights) detective skills? Whatever. Alex's amazing research and computer skills that gets whatever information she needs to actually solve the case? Psh. Whatever. The only important person to Sylvie... Is Sylvie.
Authors... Take note. Independent, strong and sassy is not the same as a female with intense anger issues that's unable to say a single nice thing to anyone. Not her best friend, not her sister and defiantly not her lover who came back to her after death to be close to her. <\b>
I want to like this book. It has everything I look for in a series.
Kick ass heroine? Magic? Crime fighting? Awesome. Maybe a little sexy love interest thrown in? Yes please.
But sadly it wasn't all I expected.
Did anyone else feel like there should have been a whole book or two before the first one? Even beginning the series with book one I felt like I was just thrown into the middle of the series. They always mention problems from the past and just expect you to know everything that happened. I had to stop reading a couple times and check to see if there was a prequel or short story out that told of some of these events before book 1 and 2.
Also, I get that the main heroine Sylvie was a descendant of Lilith so survival and stubbornness was programmed in her DNA (I guess) but she just came off completely crazy, selfish and with anger issues.
After everything that happens, you would expect to sympathize with the main characters after all they have gone through. Nope. All she does is yell, bitch, gripe and make snide comments to everyone around her who is trying to help her and that SHE WOULDNT BE ABLE TO DO ANYHING WITHOUT. Seriously! She bosses everyone around and is rude and mean but still takes all the credit for everything. If she was just an iota nicer and not up her own ass all the time, I bet she would get a lot more accomplished.
Michael (and Wrights) detective skills? Whatever. Alex's amazing research and computer skills that gets whatever information she needs to actually solve the case? Psh. Whatever. The only important person to Sylvie... Is Sylvie.
Authors... Take note. Independent, strong and sassy is not the same as a female with intense anger issues that's unable to say a single nice thing to anyone. Not her best friend, not her sister and defiantly not her lover who came back to her after death to be close to her. <\b>
October 29, 2014
Reading this was like trying to eat a particularly stodgy fruit cake. There were delicious pieces of cherry hidden within, but the rest of it was very heavy, hard work to finish and my brain-gut is not going to thank me for it later on.
I think I'd enjoy this more if Sylvie could decide on whether she wants to walk the road of redemption or throw her morals to the wind and go for full amoral survival all the time. At the moment she wavers uncontrollably between the two leaving guilt and emo whining in her wake.
Actually I'd probably enjoy this more if I liked any of the characters in it, but they're all either stupidly stubborn, willfully ignorant, or spoiled and bratty... And that's just the "good" guys!
On the other hand it's a nice supernatural mystery with a healthy amount of twists and turns. I feel that on the whole I liked the plot and if it had been substituted in to, say, an October Daye or Kate Daniels novel I'd have eaten it up with a spoon, but here with this set of characters I didn't connect to it just lost a sense of immediacy for me and made me wonder why I really cared.
This isn't a bad book, I'd certainly say give it a go if you like the darker, mystery laden side of Urban Fantasy, but for me this just didn't hit the mark. I'm willing to read on in the series but I need to go and have a break to find something a little on the lighter, more humourous side of things first.
I think I'd enjoy this more if Sylvie could decide on whether she wants to walk the road of redemption or throw her morals to the wind and go for full amoral survival all the time. At the moment she wavers uncontrollably between the two leaving guilt and emo whining in her wake.
Actually I'd probably enjoy this more if I liked any of the characters in it, but they're all either stupidly stubborn, willfully ignorant, or spoiled and bratty... And that's just the "good" guys!
On the other hand it's a nice supernatural mystery with a healthy amount of twists and turns. I feel that on the whole I liked the plot and if it had been substituted in to, say, an October Daye or Kate Daniels novel I'd have eaten it up with a spoon, but here with this set of characters I didn't connect to it just lost a sense of immediacy for me and made me wonder why I really cared.
This isn't a bad book, I'd certainly say give it a go if you like the darker, mystery laden side of Urban Fantasy, but for me this just didn't hit the mark. I'm willing to read on in the series but I need to go and have a break to find something a little on the lighter, more humourous side of things first.
March 27, 2012
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Heidi
When I started reading this book I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not as I didn’t really care for the first installment of the series, Sins & Shadows. But I’m happy to report that I found this story much more entertaining than the first. I thought Sylvie’s sister, Zoe, brought a lot to the story and even made Sylvie seem more real and believable. I didn’t think Sylvie was nearly as hard-headed and unreasonable as she was at times in the last novel.
I liked Adam Wright and thought him and Demailion sharing his body was interesting. Especially as they learned to get along and even work together sometimes tag-teaming poor Sylvie! You could really feel Sylvie’s struggle as she got to know Wright and even liked him, but still longed to have Demalion back in her life full-time.
I did not expect the book to end the way it did especially not where Wright was concerned. But loved how it kept things open for what is to come with Zoe.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars, which is a vast improvement from it predecessor and hope that the series continues to improve.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ly...
When I started reading this book I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not as I didn’t really care for the first installment of the series, Sins & Shadows. But I’m happy to report that I found this story much more entertaining than the first. I thought Sylvie’s sister, Zoe, brought a lot to the story and even made Sylvie seem more real and believable. I didn’t think Sylvie was nearly as hard-headed and unreasonable as she was at times in the last novel.
I liked Adam Wright and thought him and Demailion sharing his body was interesting. Especially as they learned to get along and even work together sometimes tag-teaming poor Sylvie! You could really feel Sylvie’s struggle as she got to know Wright and even liked him, but still longed to have Demalion back in her life full-time.
I did not expect the book to end the way it did especially not where Wright was concerned. But loved how it kept things open for what is to come with Zoe.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars, which is a vast improvement from it predecessor and hope that the series continues to improve.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ly...
July 3, 2017
I wanted to really like this book and to be able to look forth to trying to get the first but that wouldn't be truthful. If you hadn't read the first book then you would end up being lost in this one since there is so much that goes unexplained and so much within the first book that is needed for you to understand the second, which is the reason why I gave this an extra star for I know it isn't the author's fault that I didn't have the first.
With the exception of the fact that a lot is used from the original book the other thing that I didn't like was the fact that there was too much going on. Although the author was trying to make a good story while having to use a bunch it just seemed too much than was necessary was used thus making the reading slow and awkward.
The characters within the story were a bit on the baseless side and those you may have been interested in weren't worked on since it was presumed you had the read the previous story. The main heroine, which was Sylvie seemed too over-made while she never really learned her lesson from the book. She is just as much a villain as a hero so you cannot say you truly like her nor can you say you really dislike or pity her.
It just wasn't my cup of tea.....
With the exception of the fact that a lot is used from the original book the other thing that I didn't like was the fact that there was too much going on. Although the author was trying to make a good story while having to use a bunch it just seemed too much than was necessary was used thus making the reading slow and awkward.
The characters within the story were a bit on the baseless side and those you may have been interested in weren't worked on since it was presumed you had the read the previous story. The main heroine, which was Sylvie seemed too over-made while she never really learned her lesson from the book. She is just as much a villain as a hero so you cannot say you truly like her nor can you say you really dislike or pity her.
It just wasn't my cup of tea.....
June 5, 2011
I can't get over the feeling that I entered this series in the middle. I hate that feeling and I usually stop reading and search for the beginning. Obviously the 1st book is the 1st book and this is the second book... But LB keeps mentioning the "past" as if we knew about them... I'm on the second book and I still can't let go. Ha! After putting the book down and picking it up after 3 days rest, I'm more in the groove of reading it. I was trying to trick myself into thinking that yeah I read about the past so what, no world building here just jump right into the story. pfft... Sort of worked but not really hence the 3 starts.
Although this book/ series deserve a higher rating, I didn't get to enjoy it because of my own personal hang ups. :P It would be a lie if I added more stars... Sigh. Anyway, The story is pretty straight forward... no what-ifs and I-didn't-see-that-coming. Not like the first book... This book however has more relationship tension. Family and love life tensions.
Can't wait to see what will happen next.
Although this book/ series deserve a higher rating, I didn't get to enjoy it because of my own personal hang ups. :P It would be a lie if I added more stars... Sigh. Anyway, The story is pretty straight forward... no what-ifs and I-didn't-see-that-coming. Not like the first book... This book however has more relationship tension. Family and love life tensions.
Can't wait to see what will happen next.
May 6, 2011
It took me a little while to get into this book, but I don't think it was really the books fault. I was a little distracted, and it took me a chapter or two to really recall the first book, which I read last year. It all came back to me, though, and in the end, I think I actually enjoyed this book even more than the first one! Sylvie, or Shadows, as she is known, is a hard heroine to love at first. She's more than another sarcastic urban fantasy heroine - she really has some reasons to be bitter and twisted. That she still cares so much about helping her clients shows that, despite her fears, she's still a good person, and that's why, ultimately, she grows on you. Kind of like getting to know some guarded people in real life, though, you have to get to know her a bit before you really warm up to her. I definitely recommend this sequel, even a bit more than the first one. (But do read the first book first, or you'll be more than a bit lost.)
July 26, 2013
I’ve never met a Lyn Benedict/Lane Robins book I didn’t like, but Ghosts & Echoes is the best of her work to date. There’s a ton of urban fantasy out there, ranging from the stellar to the egregious, but this is the kind of book I like to wave at people and say, “This is what urban fantasy can be.”
Sylvie “Shadows” Lightner is back in Miami, recovering from what she calls the “Chicago clusterf*ck” that took place in the previous novel, Sins & Shadows. Two new cases fall into her lap: a string of magically-enhanced burglaries, and a shell-shocked Chicago cop who carries the ghost of a dead man within him. Neither is as straightforward as it sounds, of course. The burglars’ trail leads Sylvie to some sinister magical transactions that threaten the life of someone close to ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Sylvie “Shadows” Lightner is back in Miami, recovering from what she calls the “Chicago clusterf*ck” that took place in the previous novel, Sins & Shadows. Two new cases fall into her lap: a string of magically-enhanced burglaries, and a shell-shocked Chicago cop who carries the ghost of a dead man within him. Neither is as straightforward as it sounds, of course. The burglars’ trail leads Sylvie to some sinister magical transactions that threaten the life of someone close to ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
January 17, 2012
A fairly decent read, but I really battled to get through this book.
Demalion's return was well-received, but I'm not sure that I like the way the Wright versus Demalion saga was resolved in the end. Sylvie seems to have grown in character, from the first book, but her abrasiveness gets to me at times. I am a great supporter of strong women, but Sylvie's bad attitude to everyone is not acceptable to me. Zoe, Sylvie's rebellious sister came across as a mini-version of Sylvie, with the potential to become a really bad element, well, she's definitely heading that way. I think Sylvie may be facing a serious moral dilemma when dealing with Zoe.
I think I need a short break from this series.
Demalion's return was well-received, but I'm not sure that I like the way the Wright versus Demalion saga was resolved in the end. Sylvie seems to have grown in character, from the first book, but her abrasiveness gets to me at times. I am a great supporter of strong women, but Sylvie's bad attitude to everyone is not acceptable to me. Zoe, Sylvie's rebellious sister came across as a mini-version of Sylvie, with the potential to become a really bad element, well, she's definitely heading that way. I think Sylvie may be facing a serious moral dilemma when dealing with Zoe.
I think I need a short break from this series.
April 29, 2016
Our main character Sylvie Lightner is a magical private investigator yet she doesn't actually want to investigate anything except the easiest cases. Huh? What are the chances of that when she investigates the weird and magical? Slim to none. I do like Alex and wish she actually had more face time. She's supposed to be Sylvie's partner but Sylvie treats her like an underling which I find annoying.
I still don't like this series but it could be because I'm sick and have little attention to give. I'll go one more just to be fair.
I still don't like this series but it could be because I'm sick and have little attention to give. I'll go one more just to be fair.
May 22, 2010
Sylvie definitely has her work cut out for her!! Demalion is back in force (though, I saw the ending coming from a mile away). This time Zoe gets caught up in a whole mess of trouble and its up to Sylvie to get her out of it. The book was good and I am getting more involved in this world, but the plot was really predictable. I figured most of the main plot out in the first few chapters. Though it wasn't bad, I don't know if I'd keep reading the series if the next book is as predictable.
May 6, 2011
God. Dark, dark, dark, dark. There is no panacea in Lyn Benedict's books, even the most unlikely of happy endings is rife with bitter things beyond Sylvie's control. The bad are not always punished, the good are often damaged in the fight, and even justice can leave you limp and tear stricken and saddened. Utterly compelling and masterfully written, GHOSTS & ECHOES fascinated and enthralled me, all the while breaking my heart.
dnf
July 14, 2011Quit at page 72.
I don't care how many times you tell me a character has the finely tuned instincts of a survivor. The instant she makes out with the possessed portion of her possessed client (molesting the body of someone vulnerable who came to her for help while he's powerless to stop her and also blithely disregarding five chapters of Better be careful, everybody's out to get me), she becomes too stupid to live.
I don't care how many times you tell me a character has the finely tuned instincts of a survivor. The instant she makes out with the possessed portion of her possessed client (molesting the body of someone vulnerable who came to her for help while he's powerless to stop her and also blithely disregarding five chapters of Better be careful, everybody's out to get me), she becomes too stupid to live.
September 25, 2011
I found this book to be a vast improvement to the predecessor, Sins & Shadows. I liked what Sylvie's sister brought to the story and Sylvie's struggle with helping Wright vs keeping Demalion in her life in Wright's body. I didn't expect the ending that came about as far as Demailion and Wright are concerned, but loved how it left things open for what is to come of Zoe in the future. I hope this series continues to improve.
Please see my full review @ http://www.openbooksociety.com
Please see my full review @ http://www.openbooksociety.com
May 19, 2011
3.5
About 2/3 through I found myself skipping some parts, I hate when the action is cut with descriptions...
Ended with another death, and an unhappily ever after, but again my mind gives me hope for the future. Surely her life can't always go wrong and leave only distruction in her path... I am still looking forward to the next one.
About 2/3 through I found myself skipping some parts, I hate when the action is cut with descriptions...
Ended with another death, and an unhappily ever after, but again my mind gives me hope for the future. Surely her life can't always go wrong and leave only distruction in her path... I am still looking forward to the next one.
February 19, 2014
Good book, somewhat spoiled by a bad blurb. Really, I hate it when the back cover text casually mentions a third-act reveal. Yes, I still enjoyed seeing Sylvie juggle three problems at once, but that back cover text had me expecting a completely different A-plot.
With that said, I did enjoy the book and am chugging right along to book three in the series.
With that said, I did enjoy the book and am chugging right along to book three in the series.
June 20, 2012
Sylvie's relationships continue to be really uneven, but I liked the concepts presented in this book, so I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3 stars (3.5 would be nice).
There isn't a lot to recommend Sylvie on a social front, so why Alex sticks around baffles me a lot. Otherwise... enjoyable, quick read.
There isn't a lot to recommend Sylvie on a social front, so why Alex sticks around baffles me a lot. Otherwise... enjoyable, quick read.
December 27, 2012
Started out a little hard - like I might have to give up on the book - but I forged ahead. The annoying little sister gets easier to take after a while, when the excellent writing distracts you from what I can only assume is the new trait for all fictional teenage girls (i.e. uber-snotty, unpleasant bitch).
June 22, 2012
This novel was a bit disappointing to me. In the first novel, her lover dies and in this novel, Adam comes along and he has part of her lover as a ghost hitchhiker in his body. It was a sad ending as well. It kind of doomed their relationship too.
September 12, 2016
This book was loaned to my by my boss, she thought I would enjoy it. I have not read any of benedict's other books...yet (hehe) I liked this one very well. I will look into more of them.
March 10, 2012
Enjoyed the story. Takes you into a world that does not exsist, but Ms Benedict provides you with enough details to bring it to life.
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