Red Hot Fury (Shades of Fury #1) by Kasey Mackenzie

Released: June 29, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 341
Publisher: Ace
ISBN-13: 978-0-441-01892-5

Red Hot Fury is Kasey Mackenzie‘s debut novel. It’s an entry into urban fantasy with a slightly different spin: her lead character, Marissa Holloway, is a Fury (as in Greek mythology) who works in the mundane world as Boston’s Chief Magical Investigator.

Things are all hunky-dory for Riss until the body of a sister Fury washes up in the Harbour. Except it’s not a Fury, it’s a corpse that’s been magically altered. And then Riss is suspended without cause and an attempt is made on her life, leading her to suspect that someone is trying to cause some trouble between mortals and arcanes. Unsure about who to trust, Riss turns to her ex-lover Scott, a shape-shifting Warhound and mercenary, dredging up old feelings in the process.

I had my doubts about this book when I picked it up. I wasn’t totally thrilled by the cover art, though I thought the back blurb made it sound really promising. Plus it has quotations from two authors I enjoy – Nalini Singh and Karen Chance – so I was willing to take a chance. I’m really happy that I did since I couldn’t put it down! Kasey Mackenzie has created a wonderful world and a great story with Red Hot Fury. She shows a firm understanding of Greek mythology and has added a great twist by having them police the arcane world in her novel. Riss is a wonderful, spunky lead character and I loved following her on this adventure. Plus, the relationship between Harpies and Furies is very interesting and I thought Riss’ various forms, including her transformation from a blue-eyed blonde to a green-eyed brunette when she’s in full Fury form, was a neat extra.

This knocks off another author for my Debut Urban Fantasy Authors challenge, bringing me up to 5. I’m a third of the way there.