Indigo

Bestseller Harris, best known for her Southern Vampire mysteries (Dead Ever After, etc.), and nine other authors have collaborated on this mixed bag of a fantasy suspense novel, which calls to mind a story told around a campfire, with each participant adding to (or subtracting from) the previous participant's contribution. New York journalist Nora Hesper must deal with her alter ego, Indigo, a brutal shape-shifting vigilante, as well as the evil cult known as the Children of Phonos, whose rites include the ritual murder of young children. As Nora battles various demons and monsters, she gets hints about her childhood, her parents' murder, and her own connections to the cult. Enemies may become allies, and friends may not be who they seem. Harris and the others, who include such genre notables as Christopher Golden, Kelly Armstrong, Jonathan Maberry, and Cherie M. Priest, appear to have had fun concocting this herky-jerky tale. Their respective fans may enjoy trying to figure out who wrote what. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

By day, Nora Hesper is an investigative reporter. At night, she is Indigo, vigilante crime fighter who can bend shadows to her will and use them with deadly force. Nora's parents were killed when she was young, and she has always wondered where her powers came from. She has dedicated her life to eradicating the Children of Phonos and their child-smuggling ring. When a high-ranking Phonos member captures Nora and reveals that her power is the result of an ancient murder god living inside her, Nora's mind begins to fracture. Ten brilliant authors, including Jonathan Maberry, Harris, and Seanan McGuire, collaborated on this tale, but the slow first half of this book is a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. However, the second half-which coincides with the introduction of Damastes, the murder god who possesses Nora-is nail-bitingly tense, and the carnage-soaked finale will satisfy readers. The second half is a clinic on how to blend writing styles effectively; the first half is an exposition on how not to. VERDICT Thriller or fantasy fans who slog through to the second act are in for a roller-coaster ride of a superhero story.-Tyler -Hixson, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.