Smoke & Mirrors by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great read about shadows. Dahlia Nite is a lyrriken dragon shifter working for the police force. One day, a series of body parts turns up at a local riverbank and not all of them are human. With only mysteries to go on, Dahlia and her friends chase shadows that lead to one grim scene after another and a group of dangerous men in masks. Can they solve the crimes before more creatures get hurt?
A great read. Well developed plot with twists and turns that I just couldn’t put down. Well developed characters like Dahlia bold and brave but caring underneath or Evans as a fun loving friend but grieving underneath. Great cats of supporting characters like the suspicious Ronnie or the stubborn Creed.
I loved the visual detail throughout the novel with the sense of macabre with the body parts and gurney and furnaces horrifying but still realistic. Or with the Gant mansion on a high cliff with its long path and old spires and windows with the sense of the gothic and unsettling perfectly written. Or the use of sounds and smells so vivid it’s as if you’re actually there.
A great example of world bulling with fantasy creatures coexisting alongside humanity with their own rules and laws and societies. I loved the inclusion of different fantasy cretaues into the novel such as the banshee or aswang or selkie given the respect they deserve and true to their origins and wonderfully written.
I also loved the use of suspense in the novel with slow builds to the scenes in the slaughter house or the factory with a sense of foreboding that something isn’t right. Or the draw of suspense around the crimes, making you want to read on to find out who is behind it all and why they are doing it. Fast paced action and high stakes make for a caotivsting read. Overall, a great read and I would give it five stars.

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