Review--Three Days to Dead

SHE'S YOUNG, DEADLY, AND HUNTED--WITH ONLY THREE DAYS TO SOLVE HER OWN MURDER...

When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab in the morgue--in a stranger's body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there--her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city's other Hunters that Evy was a traitor--and she can't even remember what it was.

Now she's a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice--and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again--but this time there's no second chance...

I happened to win this book in a contest not too long ago, prior to I had been considering getting it when I had the time. Problem was solved. And it was a fabulous read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was able to conquer the 400+ book in about a day. Really it took the span of two days but counting the hours out it was less than 12 really. Just a matter of personal opinion I guess.

Anyway onto my review of Three Days to Dead. Once again I find myself reading a book that is the debut of a new series by a debut writer and am introduced to more than just vampires. In fact vampires aren't even that much of a central character role, I mean they do, but not a constant character, more of a sub-character. Basically Evy is a Hunter and her friend Wyatt was the one in charge of her Triad before the accident.

A lot has happened and Evy cannot remember it, to top it off she's in another body who was once a person too, someone with a life--a life with her own dark secrets. People from her life are still around and when they see her, thinking she was dead, heads roll! It gets complicated to explain without giving away spoilers, but Meding writes it smoothly.

As a debut author, Meding brings you into a world that already exists but we humans remain blissfully unaware of the creatures that stalk the night--aren't we always? But really, the story was good, because since Evy cannot remember the events leading to her death, she does not know who she can trust. Other than Wyatt, he was one of the last people she remembered seeing before she died and her instinct says to trust him. But even Wyatt is keeping secrets from her.

With only 72 hours to solve her murder, Evy has to work hard and fast, but that can be hard when whoever wanted her dead in the first place is still out there. Within the time limit Evy begins to remember some of the events leading to her death, some memories including a particular someone.....and then later on she remembers even more.

Teaming up with a few unlikely allies and trying to get fellow Hunters from other Triads to believe she's innocent for crimes she did not commit, are only the beginning of Evy's challenges. She will have a lot more to overcome, pain and grief and the return of some unwanted memories from the moments when she was still alive up until her death.

When she and Wyatt finally discover the truth it will leave them both shocked to their cores. Will they both be able to survive the next few hours when they finally reach the conclusion or will death reach Evy again? --Going for a dramatic effect here-- ;)

But seriously? This was an awesome book, there are so many more creatures involved, much like my last read, but it is told differently, in this series the majority of the supes are bad guys so they cannot be trusted. There are quite a few surprises and shocks throughout the book that it left me gripping the edges and wanting to read as fast as I could.

Three Days to Dead is a gripping novel that is fast paced and does not lag whatsoever. The plot is great and fully developed. Characters, both main and secondary and even the lesser ones were well developed and colorful. No one was cliched or fake feeling. I am really looking forward to the second novel in the series As Lie the Dead coming July 27 2010.