Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers
AUTHOR: Jenna Rose and Katey Hawthorne
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 206 pages
BLURB:
John Tilney, praeternatural pyrokinetic and mystery author, has noticed the bottom dropping out of the market for his usual gothic fare, so he goes to Lowell Kanaan, PI, for a crash course in noir. Lowell, the cranky wolf-shifter detective, isn’t sure why he agrees to let John shadow him–though it might have something to do with John’s weirdly endearing honesty…and pretty lips. John thinks he’s found the perfect detective novel hero in Lowell, but it isn’t long before he realizes he doesn’t want Lowell for his book, but for himself.
As they become entangled in a supernatural whodunnit involving the Zombie Mafia, black market body parts, and shady insurance deals, their partnership grows closer–and hotter. But when it comes down to the wire, Lowell’s wolfy protective side threatens to drive John around the bend, or at least out of the office. Good thing John’s as much sunshine as he is fire; hopefully, it’s enough to help them catch a murderer before they end up–literally–in pieces, too.
REVIEW:
John Tilney is an author whose books aren’t really selling anymore. Deciding he needs to make a change, he visits the local police department to see about doing research for a new type of novel (crime instead of gothic) only to be turned away and pointed in the direction of Lowell Kanaan. Kanaan used to be a cop but now works as a P.I, doing just as much pro bono work as he does paid, if not more. Agreeing to let John shadow him in exchange for help around the office, he ends up finding a lot more than just someone to file his paperwork.
This book was so GOOD! John is a fairly eccentric character (especially if you use his clothing as an indicator) while Lowell is more grounded; the two worked well together and each brought something needed to the investigations. I thought the characters were well developed, even though getting information from Lowell was kind of like pulling teeth, but there was still room for growth. I also really liked how there were many different types of praeternaturals in this book, including some I’ve never seen before, which made it more interesting to me, and which I hope to see in future installments even though there’s no series listed as of yet. The mystery itself was the best part, however. The pacing of the overall story was good and I never once figured out what was going on before the authors were ready for me to; everything was woven together so well that the book was truly a joy to read. There were a couple of different cases shown over the course of the story but both were handled well and it never felt as though one was being short changed in favor of the other. I really enjoyed this one and I know I’ll read it again several times over in the future.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: