Review: A magical invasion of legendary creatures makes this a great read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2011
What happens when creatures of legend manage to come through portals to earth after being gone for many centuries?  The story in Shadow Path begins a few years after magical portals opened, allowing such beings to come through from the "Otherworld".  It isn't just humans anymore.  Now you may find elves, sorcerers, Ogres, Pixies, and many others wandering around the streets.  Not all of them are bad, but the ones that are have created quite a problem for law enforcement.  Now they must adapt to magical races that can't be handled in the same way as humans.Kat Morales is one detective that has been partnered with an elf, Tevis Mcleod, who crossed over soon after the portals opened.  Despite their working together for three months, there is a lot she still doesn't know about him.  That all changes when his former lover comes to town and begins a slew of murders to draw him out.  Now his past has come back to haunt him, and it will put his human partner at risk.  Kat is no shrinking violet, though, and she is up for the challenge.  Together, they will have to search for one of the most powerful black magic users either of their worlds has seen.  It will be the most dangerous investigation of their careers and one they may not survive.This story proved to be a lot of fun to read.  While it certainly has fantasy elements, I loved that the author put the setting in the modern world.  Not only that, but she managed to conduct her world building in a way that felt very believable.  All the necessary explanations are given, but done in a way that doesn't bog the reader down in details.  Instead, it came in bursts as the information was needed.  That allowed the story to keep moving quickly so people can stay engaged in the tale.  The further I got into Shadow Path, the more entranced I became.  This is one author that has no lack of imagination or creativity.There weren't many issues I found with the novel.  I did see a few typos and awkward sentences, but they were not frequent.  In fact, the story caught me in its grip so well, I hardly noticed the ones I saw.  On the positive side of things, I loved the author's inclusion of cats and their possible mystical connotations.  The further into the novel you go, the more they played a role I have not seen anyone use before.  This put a welcome twist on an already great story.  There are many other interesting elements which will delight the reader, but I don't want to spoil things too much.  I can honestly say this is one book that I don't regret picking up.  In fact, I implore the author to put her other books in the series out on Kindle as soon as possible so I can read them as well.  Particularly the one that comes after Shadow Path.I highly recommend this novel to people who enjoy fantasy, police procedural, or suspense novels.  There is a little something for everyone!