Into the Fire (Samantha Kane, #1) by Patrick Hester
My rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of five
Samantha Kane is struggling with this thing called ‘her life’, and how it can be completely turned upside down in the span of one week. Her partner and mentor is hospitalized, followed quickly by her father, who slips into a coma, her teenage brother decides now is the perfect time to rebel, and her mom lays the guilt on thick as molasses every chance she gets. Work isn’t much better. Recently promoted to detective, her job is suddenly in jeopardy, and the cops she’s worked with for years, no longer respect her or want her around. Not to mention the fact that Ghosts, Vampires, and Werewolves are real, and apparently want her dead.
Why?
According to a crazy man who showed up out of nowhere, Sam was never meant to be a cop. She’s supposed to be a Wizard.
I was browsing around for something new to read when stumbling onto this one. With new I mean something not part of any book series that I have going currently. It is stated that the book is part of a series called Samantha Kane. Starting to read it is a bit of a gamble though since there is only one book published so far in the series. After having read it I do hope that the author continues the series.
The blurb pretty much describes the start of the story. Luckily there is much more happening in the book than Samantha’s personal issues with family and colleagues. The crazy man is, of course, far from crazy and I did quite quickly take a liking to him. Unfortunately I am not to happy about some of the events concerning him and his possible role in future books.
The core of the story is one I like quite a lot. Young person, Samantha Kane, discovers that there are things that go bump in the night and that she is part of the ones doing the bumping. I always like to read these “surprise” stories.
I also liked the main protagonist. She is quite likable, can stand her ground and do not go around whining about how unfair life is all the time.
Apart from wizards and magic there are vampires, werewolves and such like magical creatures roaming around. The book provides us with yet another take on what vampires are and how they tick. I cannot say that this one is significantly better or worse than a lot of the ones I have read before but it is plausible, in the context of a fantasy book, and it is always nice with some new ideas.
A lot of the book, pretty much all of it actually, is universe building and setting up the scene for future stories. There is still quite a bit of action going on though. Should I complain about anything it is that the author is rushing things a bit. Samantha goes a wee bit quickly from magical newbie to serious ass-kicker. I would have liked a bit more time spent in training.
Overall it is an enjoyable read. I hope the author publishes more books about Samantha Kane since I quite liked this one.
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