Sins & Shadows
by Lyn Benedict
List Price:
Our Price: $1.77
You Save: $6.22 (78%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Lyn BenedictEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-28
ISBN: 0441017118
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Ace
Book Reviews of Sins & Shadows
Book Review: "The only good thing about gods is that they prefer their realm to ours."
Summary: 4 Stars
Lyn Benedict also writes political-intrigue fantasy under the name Lane Robins. I learned this before starting _Sins and Shadows_, and I've been wondering ever since whether I'd have figured it out if I hadn't known. The setting, plot, and prose style are completely different from the Lane Robins books, but there are some echoes in the general themes: love, vengeance, and the havoc that gods wreak when they meddle in mortal affairs.
Sins and Shadows introduces us to Sylvie Lightner, nicknamed "Shadows," who works as a sort of paranormal P.I. After a satanic cult kills one of her friends, Sylvie is about to call it quits. Just as she's firing her assistant and packing her office, she is approached by a god in need. Kevin Dunne is the Greek god of Justice, and he's shown up with his Furies in tow, wanting Sylvie to help him find his missing lover.
"Wait," you might say. "There's no male Greek god of Justice that the Furies answer to! And even if there were, he wouldn't be named Kevin!" Sylvie's reaction is much the same. How Kevin became a god is part of the central mystery Sylvie must unravel if she is to save the day.
I really loved the world-building here. Lyn Benedict immerses the reader in a complex setting filled with bureaucracy, gods of various pantheons, and competing agendas. The prose is great too. It's less ornate than the style she uses in Maledicte and Kings and Assassins, but the simpler style suits the gritty modern setting, and she's just as good at evoking beautiful or gory images with her words as she is when she's writing as Lane Robins. The scene that stands out most to me is the novel's (only) sex scene, in which Benedict twines together the romantic emotions with a very different kind of tension; there's a mysterious threat in the background that adds some creepiness to the scene. When I figured out why Sylvie was so affected by certain colors in her partner's room, I got chills.
The biggest sticking point in _Sins and Shadows_ is Sylvie herself. I had a lot of trouble liking her. She pushes people away. She uses people. She loses her temper at the worst possible moments. The good news is, Benedict writes Sylvie's nasty streak into the story in a realistic way. She doesn't just go around mouthing off with no consequences. She gets called on it all the time, and her attitude often lands her and her friends in mortal danger. And once in a while, it works in her favor. Best of all, as _Sins and Shadows_ ends, there is hope for a more-sympathetic Sylvie.
I'll be following the Shadows Inquiries series. The complex world-building, evocative prose, and layered plot are more than enough to make up for a heroine with a whole bag of chips on her shoulder. And as for her, well, I just need to keep in mind that I didn't like Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels much at first, either, and now she's one of my favorite fantasy characters. I'm looking forward to seeing what Sylvie's character arc will be.
This is a very dark urban fantasy without a lot of comic relief, but there was one line that cracked me up; I think Benedict may be giving the subgenre a little affectionate ribbing:
"How many pretty women carry a big gun and an even bigger mouth?"
Summary of Sins & Shadows
Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real-and where death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you.
But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she's closing up shop-until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover.
And he won't take no for an answer.
But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she's closing up shop-until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover.
And he won't take no for an answer.
Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.76
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
Uncertain Allies (Connor Grey, Book 5)by Mark Del Franco
Ace; Published: 2011-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.73
Price in other shops:
Grave Witch (Alex Craft, Book 1)by Kalayna Price
Roc; Published: 2010-10-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.15
Price in other shops:
One Salt Sea: An October Daye Novelby Seanan McGuire
DAW; Published: 2011-09-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.16
Price in other shops:
Night Child (OSI, Book 1)by Jes Battis
Ace; Published: 2008-05-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
Grave Dance: An Alex Craft Novelby Kalayna Price
Roc; Published: 2011-07-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.29
Price in other shops:
The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, Book 3)by Kelly Gay
Pocket Books; Published: 2011-08-30; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
Dark Descendantby Jenna Black
Pocket Books; Published: 2011-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5)by Ilona Andrews
Ace; Published: 2011-05-31; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.14
Price in other shops:
Ghosts & Echoesby Lyn Benedict
Ace; Published: 2010-04-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
Gods & Monsters (Shadows Inquiries)by Lyn Benedict
Ace; Published: 2011-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.58
Price in other shops: