This is one of the better urban fantasy novels. Tess Corday is an OSI (an Occult Special Investigator) who seems to have fallen off the promotion merry-go-round a long time ago due to her bad attitude. Then one night she's called to a crime scene that changes her life. The murder victim is a vampire, nothing unusual there. What is usual is the cause of death.
Despite warnings from her boss about protocol, Tess realises the dead vampire is just one small piece of a much larger puzzle. And just like her 'CSI: Miami' counterpart Horatio Caine, Tess is going to solve this murder and save the day all by herself, workplace regulations be damned.
Along the way to her goal she encounters over-sexed vampires, assassin demons and a necromancer who she is attracted to in a very unholy manner. The resolution is a bit pat and predictable and the sequel is set up in a blatant and extremely unsubtle manner. But despite that this is a lushly written novel that evokes its otherworldly otherness very well. The world building and magic system are done very well. This is a wonderful start to what will hopefully be a great series.
