Roadkill

Road Kill (2010) Rob Thurman

I love this series.

I’d specifically not wondered where baby revenants came from when we’d gotten out of the Jeep. And here I was finding out anyway. Ain’t that life? Life and pained eyeballs I suddenly didn’t want anymore.

Love it.

Yes, Cal is an asshole. But considering that he’s half monster, and reviled by almost the entire supernatural community, that’s understandable.

And he has redeeming qualities–namely that his brother Niko loves him, and Cal will do anything–absolutely anything–for Niko.

Cal was just getting used to settling into (for him) a somewhat normal life, that allowed him to live in one place and stop running and hiding from the Auphie, when the elderly head of the Sarzo gypsy clan (who all but caused the death of Niko earlier) comes to them with “a small job.”

Things get ugly almost immediately.

I’m not even sure I can coherently list why I love this series and this book.

Cal feels like a real–yet surly and cranky–person. But seeing as he has every reason to be cranky, it’s hard to hold it against him. And the relationship between Cal and Niko feels real. They fight. They bicker. They argue. But most importantly, they love each other. And (to get all sappy here for a moment) it’s an unconditional love, and it feels true and real.

“I’m a man? Yeah? Do I get a bar mitzvah?”
“The bris comes first. Do you want to borrow my tanto? I sharpened it this past weekend.”

And Cal may have powers, but he knows his limits–and is reminded of those limits not just by Nico, but by seemingly everyone.

I went to the passenger side and was greeted by fangs shown in a cheerful greeting, jack-o-lantern eyes, and a ruby collar with a gold ID tag around a hairless neck. I opened the door and Salome, who was sitting upright, reagal, and ready for her ride, didn’t move. I opened my jacket and showed her my gun. She opened her mouth and I watched her already-visible fangs slide farther out of her gray gums and double in size. I closed my jacket and got in the backseat with Robin.

How often does the hero get put in his place by a mummy cat? Not often enough I say.

And as a note, the Cal on the cover has gone back to matching the Cal inside the book. Not sure what happened with Deathwish, when there seemed to be an attempt to make Cal look hunky. But here were back to the surly and sullen Cal we know and love. Yay!

So yes, I loved Roadkill just like I’ve loved every previous book in this series. Could you start here without having read previous books in the series? Yes. Would you want to? No. You instead want to start at the beginning and work your way forward. It’s worth it. I promise.
Rating: 9/10

Published by ROC

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