ASIN: B006WB7MRA
Series: Revivalist
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Pages/File Size: 318pages/625KB
Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book
BLURB from Goodreads
Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice.
Wit the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead.....
MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
Approaching this book I'd say I had fairly high expectations, as it is written by Rachel Caine, and having read a lot of the Morganville Vampire books and really loved them. Though I think The Revivalist Series is more adult aimed.
MY REVIEW
I exchanged a book I had read on the Goodreads UK Swap Group for this book. this book does have a few different covers but for the purpose of this review I will talk about the one I have pictured above. I think the female on the cover looks strong and perhaps edging toward being called a kick butt female character, so upon reading the book I think its safe to say that that is Bryn Davis. The candles in the background give the cover a haunting look. I think the title,author name and series name fonts fit the funereal feel of the cover and the book. Again my pet hate is the quote from another author. Even though I love Charlaine Harris I'd prefer her quote to be on the back cover or the inside of the book somewhere. There's no byline, which I think does add to the appeal of a book. So would the cover alone make me pick this book up from a book store shelf? Yes I think it would, though I wouldn't be grabbing this one first, I would notice it and pick it up to learn more.
So I like the totally different plot of this book. Bryn has just come out of the military, and applied for a job at the Fairview Funeral Home. Bryn quickly learns that there is something not quite right going on at the funeral home and upon working late finds herself bizarrely caught up in the middle of everything with two men named Joe Fideli and Patrick McCallister who are some type of whistleblower/assassin type people who are trying to find out who is supplying the "drugs" to Fairview. The "Drug" in question is very special, as it brings you back from the dead. As McCallister and Fideli are creeping about, Fast Freddy and Mr Fairview kill Bryn as she has witnessed an altercation between them and a client who is trying to obtain more of the drug. So Bryn is dead, then she is in turn given the drug which is aptly called Returné. Which all sounds great until you realise to stay "undead and prevent decomposing" a shot of Returné has to be given daily. The company that makes Returné is called Pharmadene Pharmaceuticals and the cold hearted woman at the top of the company is ironically called Ms Harte, only she has no "heart" at all. Ms Harte is a cold calculated hard nosed business woman. She controls the supply of Returné she can literally cut off Bryn's lifeline. There's lots of industrial espionage, under cover operations, drama, danger, black market drug deals and death in this action packed book. There's crazy scientist Manny who seems to want to help, or does he? The plot at times seems quite complicated, but everything does fall into place as you are reading the book. I don't wish to giveaway any more than absolutely necessary.
We also go through a range of emotions with Bryn as she has to come to terms with being a Returné user/one of the walking dead. she will never have a family of her own, who would want to even marry her? I mean how could she explain the daily shots of Returné to start with? At times Bryn is naturally depressed, I mean normally death is the end of all your problems not just the very beginning of them.
I enjoyed the medium to fast pace of the book, there's always something happening and plenty of uncertainty, and opportunity to muse as to how work out.
I found the characters of Joe, Patrick and of course Bryn likeable. You really empathise with Bryn and the predicament she finds herself in. At one point in the book you wonder if Bryn is going to fall for Joe Fideli but Joe is happily married with children so the love interest ends up being Patrick. Patrick however tries to remain emotionally detached from Bryn, but can he keep that up, how would he feel if her supply of Returné was cut off? Could he live with himself if Bryn had to be left to decompose?
The book ends in such a way that it sets this scene for a potentially impressive series.
So did I enjoy the book? Yes, it was a refreshing variation on my usual type of read. Would I recommend the book? Yes but I'd say it is more aimed at older teen/adults. Would I read a BK#2? Yes I think BK#2 will be going on my wishlist to read. Would I read other books by Rachel Caine? I have read the Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Caine so I guess the answer is yes.
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