Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey

Agent of Hel, Book 2

Synopsis: Fathered by an incubus, raised by a mortal mother, and liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, Daisy Johanssen pulled the community together after a summer tragedy befell the resort town she calls home. Things are back to normal—as normal as it gets for a town famous for its supernatural tourism, and presided over by the reclusive Norse goddess Hel.

Not only has Daisy now gained respect as Hel’s enforcer, she’s dating Sinclair Palmer, a nice, seemingly normal human guy. Not too shabby for the daughter of a demon. Unfortunately, Sinclair has a secret. And it’s a big one.

He’s descended from Obeah sorcerers and they want him back. If he doesn’t return to Jamaica to take up his rightful role in the family, they’ll unleash spirit magic that could have dire consequences for the town. It’s Daisy’s job to stop it, and she’s going to need a lot of help. But time is running out, the dead are growing restless, and one mistake could cost Daisy everything……

Review: I had a good time with the first volume and it’s true that I was curious to see how the history of our beloved Daisy would continue. Oh yes because Once upon a time was a heroine who had three lovely pretenders, or is it finally two? And she does not know exactly the one she wants. What a dilemma would you say? Oh yes very difficult thing! So of course, the “lived happily ever after” is not close to being there. How could this be the case between a ghoul who can not age and a werewolf who can only create a relationship with a person of his kind. But besides all this, dear Daisy has to manage her city. And with a temperament like hers, it will not be easy.

We find our heroine early in the novel with Sinclair, a character discovered in the first volume. They set a pretty cute relationship and at the same time it is true that it is the character with whom I saw her the least with. He is kind and gentle, but he is too smooth for me. We learn a little more about him, including that he hides more than he wants to say. It was interesting to see what this Jamaican keeps to himself and at the same time, while the situation is quite serious, I think he takes it a bit too lightly. It’s not a problem at all by the way, it’s part of the character but it’s also why I do not really see him with our heroine. Luckily for her, our two other heroes are there too. Two slightly darker characters, more complicated and more intriguing that we find with pleasure. But it’s true that it would be quite difficult to choose between the two as the purpose can never be happy anyway.

This story focuses particularly on Sinclair and his troubled past. Oh yes because his origins makes him different, not quite human and when his family wants him to return to take his right place, this poses a major impact on the city, and Daisy is forced to take part. Yet our liaison officer can not always do what she wants and the consequences are quite catastrophic. Ghosts, zombies, and other creatures come into play in the story. We also have new characters like Cooper, a Stephan’s lieutenant, or Lee, a computer genius. This is two characters that we quickly appreciate and that we discover with pleasure. I was quite surprised by the Jen’s sister here. I did not expect at all to such a turnaround from her behavior and it is true that I was glad to see that she was finally more than what she shows.

Of course, all the other characters we know are present here as well and it was a real pleasure to see them again. This is a really nice series to discover and I admit that I’m really curious to know more about Daisy although nothing will be easy for her. Oh yes, because whatever she does or chooses, the consequences are very important. A new enemy is appearing and I am looking forward to learning more about him now. A good second book, and I hope to read the next one soon.