Chain Reaction by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dahlia Nite is back in the next installment of this series and yet again, she has another crime to solve, but this time she has to overcome her own personal barriers as well as professional ones, although having Casey Evans around to talk to us helpful and her partner Detective Creed is as much of a thorn in her side as ever, but they all make a good team. This time, Dahlia is on one of her nighttime forays into the darkness and the seedier part of town, she is interrupted by a familiar scent, when she follows it she finds a young women who doesn’t belong there covered in blisters and peeling skin, but there is nothing she can do to help her when she combusts right before her eyes, but when the same thing happens at the gym the next day after her a d Casey have been sparring, there aren’t just blisters this time, the woman in question is mutating and as Dahlia is trying to help her, she combusts again, but this time it is in the middle of the street where everyone can see.

When Detective Creed arrives on the scene, he is frustrated and also slightly annoyed that is on Dahlia’s doorstep again, but not surprised either, however when he learns it is another spontaneous combustion case, he is not happy either, but at when it is revealed that Casey knows this woman, they start on tracking her movements for the last few days to see where she may have contracted whatever caused her death and to see if it uncovers any other victims. A few days later, some calls have come in about someone attacking their girlfriend in a club and then going on a violent rampage around the city, but when Dahlia and Creed finally chase the person down, it is clear that it is another victim, but this one is not easily put down and when Dahlia has chased him to the top of a building under construction, Creed is right on her heels, but she cannot get any information from him apart from one word before he falls to his death in a fiery ball.

Dahlia has no further ideas on what is causing the outbreak, but when a friend screams for help when he starts to report a crime, she is shocked to hear that he stole and came into contact with some of whatever was causing the problem, so as she sets off for another late night hunt, she runs into an old enemy, but she does find a name and a possible connection, however nothing goes as smoothly as planned, but as the bodies keep appearing and the mystery deepens, will Dahlia be able to keep a lid on what is happening and find out who is behind it, or will the city be swarmed by these rage fueled and mutated humans and in some cases, can they even still be called humans? This is another action packed thriller with a whirlwind of twists and turns throughout which will leave you guessing until the very end.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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