Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Taken
Celestial Blues, Book 1
Vicki Pettersson

Harper Voyager, Harper Collins Publishers
June 12, 2012 / ISBN: 978-0062064646
Fantasy
Amazon

Reviewed by Jan Fields

Griffin Shaw is a Centurion, a kind of angel whose job is to help victims of violent deaths on to their journey to the afterlife. Violent death brings baggage for the dead -- just as it brought for Griffin himself. He's not handling his own baggage well and manages to screw up a pick up. As a result, he's back to earth in the flesh to correct his mistake and collect the soul of a girl he accidentally targetted for murder. The girl is Kit Craig and she's not ready to be collected. Together Griffin and Kit hunt for the killer targetting her, whether heaven likes it or not.

It was nice to get in on the first book of a series and I found a lot to like about this one. I love the combination of vintage noir and contemporary urban fantasy. The whole mythology of the series with Centurians and Pures (angels who have never been human) was fascinating. And the mystery itself was compelling and twisty enough to satisfy any detective buff. I do warn readers -- this book is likely to be seriously offensive to Mormons since it plays on some of the worst of the Mormon stereotypes, so proceed at your own risk.

Reviewer Jan Fields is the editor of Kid Magazine Writers emagazine and has written dozens of stories and articles for the children's magazine market.
Reviewed 2012
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