Review--The Taken by Vicki Pettersson

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he's an angel, but that doesn't make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he's been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul—Katherine "Kit" Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder—and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie.

Joining forces, Kit and Grif's search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn't Grif's biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife . . .

Finally read The Taken, Vicki Pettersson's first book in the Celestial Blues series. And it was quite different than I expected. It was an intriguing read with a good mystery built up and awesome characters, I guess I just thought there would be a little more paranormal involved. Though, we do get that with Griffin Shaw, since he's sort of an angel and all!

Griffin Shaw was murdered 50 years ago. He's now a Centurion and basically helps souls cross over. There's a more intricate process than simply helping a soul move on to Heaven or whatnot. But I won't get into all that. After helping out a soul, Griffin makes an uh-oh and his punishment is to be human for awhile. Didn't quite grasp as to the whys and hows of that, but it basically puts him in Kit's path. He's to let her die and he is to cross her soul over before taking his proper place back.

Kit is a blast from a past. She's a genuine rockabilly and from what I grasped, it means she enjoys the lifestyles from time past. She enjoys dressing in the 50s fashion and even her house and car are retro 50s style. But she still holds to some modern tech in her career as a reporter. 

Needless to say, the character building was awesome! It took a bit of understanding at times to what was going on with them in their world, but I followed along rather well. 

The mystery aspect was great too! A genuine murder mystery, as Kit's best friend was murdered and she's determined to find the culprit. She follows her reporter instincts and gets herself into a bit of trouble, but luckily for her, Grif has made himself her guardian angel for the time being.

The mystery was rather good. It got really into the thick of things with prostitution rings and all that illegal jazz, involving secret clubs. Creepy stuff, because that kind of stuff is real. So uber creepy. Vicki really knows how to do her research and integrate into the story in a professional and easily understandable way.

The romance was good too. It was the slow building kind, for at first, Grif is still mourning the murder of his wife. She was killed 50 years ago, just before his own murder. He has yet to see her in the afterlife and wants to. He also wants to find justice for their murders. So he wasn't really looking to fall in love. But Kit has a special way about her and a romance slowly builds and forms. It was beautifully done!

I guess my only complaint was that there wasn't as much paranormal-ness to the story. Sure, Grif's a Centurion and he gets visits from other celestial friends throughout the book, but that was about it. I guess I just thought that the mystery itself would tie in more paranormal goodness, but it didn't. It was a purely humanistic or rather inhuman case. But the read was still overall enjoyable! I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series over the next month or so (since the third and final book, The Given releases May 27). A highly recommended read if you like a good mystery, and of course were a fan of Vicki's Signs of the Zodiac series!


Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars