[.ca] Dancing With Werewolves: Delilah Street, Paranormal ... (ISBN 0809572036)

wonderful start to a new urban paranormal series:
A strange phenomena--when an author changes style or direction, there's often a violent knee-jerk reaction from fans to the shift. You constantly see people complaining about an author doing the same old, same old. Yet, let a writer give you a fresh premise, a plot totally unlike anything she's done before and readers surprisingly scream, 'burn the witch'. I think readers--fans--often seek long time authors out for 'comfort food'. The books may not be exciting, but you know what your money is going for; it's safe. Despite the whines of 'nothing new', when an author makes that about face, they nearly get stoned! Carole Nelson Douglas --long time author with over fifty titles to her credit in the Irene Adler series and the Midnight Louie series--hops to another publisher and gives you the wildly zany Dancing With Werewolves. While I love her other stories, I truly enjoyed this book, and look forward to others in the series to come. It's sharply written, very witty and kept me turning pages until I read the whole book in one sitting. As fans become accustomed to this new direction for this talented author, I fully expect to see praise for her new style. In a genre that's quickly filling with authors left and right, Nelson brings a fresh and sassy voice to Delilah Street. A woman with a dim past, she knows she was named after the street where she was found orphaned. She's currently an investigative reporter heading up the paranormal beat in Wichita, Kansas. The theme reminded me faintly of the movie Fred Ward did for HBO (Cast a Deadly Spell, 1991), where paranormal was normal. I absolutely adored Ward's Harry Phillip Lovecraft character, so it follows I would enjoy this book, too. While watching a television show, Delilah spots a cadaver being dissected and gets a chill. The 'dead body' could be her twin sister! When the vampire anchorman tries to put the bite on her and she ends up fired, then she loses her dog and her home, Delilah figures someone is trying to tell her it's time to take the show on the road--and find out if there's a clone who may be her sister. Vegas has always been considered a bit strange, but in this alternative world, werewolves are literally running the town. Besides the werewolves, there are a few witches and other not quite humans that keep the plot moving and full of surprises. As in the Ward movie, it's an odd blend on urban fantasy and film noir that is brought to life under the talented pen...hum...keyboard of Ms. Douglas. My husband absolutely adored this book, so it should appeal to both sexes