Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters 
SERIES: Offbeat Crime #1
AUTHOR: Angel Martinez
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill
LENGTH: 61 pages
BLURB:
What good is a squad of cops with psychic abilities if all of them are defective?
Officer Kyle Monroe’s encounter with a strange gelatinous creature in an alley leaves him scarred and forever changed, revealing odd abilities he wishes he didn’t have and earning him reassignment to Philadelphia’s 77th Precinct where all the cops have defective paranormal abilities.
Just as Kyle’s starting to adjust to his fellow misfit squad mates, his new partner arrives. Tall, physically perfect, reserved, and claiming he has no broken psychic talents, Vikash Soren irritates Kyle in every way. But as much as he’d like to hate Vikash, Kyle finds himself oddly drawn to him, their non-abilities meshing in unexpected ways.
Now, if Kyle and Vikash can learn to work together, they just might be able to stop the mysterious killer who has been leaving mutilated bodies along the banks of the Schuylkill.
REVIEW:
Wow…. Only Angel Martinez could come up with this story and make it work so very well!
Magic and paranormal things exist in this world, and police departments have begun setting up teams to deal with crimes and odd occurences caused by things magical/paranormal/psychic. In Philadelphia, Precinct 77 is established with a home base but they really cover all of the city. The precinct is staffed by the misfits of the paranormal world. Their talents don’t seem to work right, or they have issues. A vampire that can only drink “skim” blood. A firestarter that can only start fires in perfect conditions. A lizard man that can’t speak. A man that is actually a wolf. You get the picture, it’s an odd bunch!
In this mix is Kyle, whose talent seems to be sucking up other talents and using them accidentally. This is a new issue for him, and he finds himself stuck with the oddballs in the 77th. He’s adjusting but it’s hard. He’s lost a partner, and is assigned a new one. Vikash is a really odd one. Cold and aloof, maybe a little slow? But he has a reason. His talent is activated by anger. So he keeps it really low key. That’s our boys, they need to figure out how to work together to solve a crime, and how to just get along.
This is a goofy little story that made me laugh! I feel weird giving 4.5 hearts to a 61 page book, but it’s just so wonderful, even in its shortness. Kyle and Vikash both are such messes, each with issues, but are able to develop a friendship and relationship. The team of misfits is just a trip. They even have a crappy coffee making ghost! Oh, and an animated leather jacket? What?? Oh my god, it all works so well!
Angel is just a fantastic author. Her creativity continually amazes me. Who else could make this all work? I have no idea, honestly. Her books walk the line between humor and cheese, and it is a fine line. This book could have gone either way. But it was so cool! I loved the quirky characters, I soooo hope we see more of them as this series develops. The mystery in this one was good, creative but not overly exciting. The oddness of the people made up for any shortcoming in the plot line. It was fine, but the who-done-it was a background for the people. This book is all about the characters. And that is just fine with me!
It was goofy, creative, weird, interesting, had a little action, a little sex, some cool characters, and a big dose of humor. I can see that this book may not be to everyone’s taste, but I loved it! If you are looking for a humorous paranormal short story, please go buy this one! If you liked her Brimstone books, this one has the same humor. Different setting, but similar goofy characters. If you do read this one and like it, go grab the Brimstone books!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: