Trace of Darkness: A Diana Duvail Novel by RB HilliardMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Entertaining Urban Fantasy Romance
This is the first book in a new series. The book finishes without a cliffhanger but more books to come are implied in the way that it ends.
Diana Duvall is a cop in Charleston. She comes from a wealthy family and has a huge trust fund. She was a disappointment to her parents with her ability to see the supernatural and her habit of talking about it before being old enough to understand that no one else could see it. She’s good at her job, but she keeps the supernatural stuff to herself.
When she is outed at work for being supernatural she was moved to the paranormal unit. Despite still being a trainee in the unit she is requested for an assignment by Zacharias, the head of the Southern Vampire Organization and thrust into a situation she is woefully unqualified to deal with.
I really enjoyed this book. There were moments when I wanted to shout at Diana for being an idiot and normally that would make me hate a character, but Diana also acknowledged when she was being an idiot and tried to do better. It softened me towards her. I liked that she was sarcastic and feisty, intelligent and determined. She was very definitely flawed, but she was aware of it.
We are introduced to her new colleagues but they aren’t deeply examined and they only have a peripheral impact on Diana, with the exception being her boss, who is determined to push Diana into learning how to use her mental abilities in order to protect herself better.
Zacharias is important to Diana and the plot, and she doesn’t understand how he has wriggled his way past her defences. He’s incredibly powerful and charismatic, handsome and lethal. He’s also possessive and protective of Diana. However, he’s not particularly great at communication and Diana is scared to let go with him.
The world-building was interesting and we were carefully introduced to the world of vampires and peripherally to the shifters. We hear about the fae, but don’t meet any. We also got to see Diana becoming a sort of bridge between the regular police and the paranormal police, able to reach information others could not because of her connections and tying things together to help solve the case. I feel that the author was setting the stage for future books with the way she introduced the other races, especially because she is unclear what kind of supernatural Diana actually is.
The plot is complex and there are lots of different players. It’s filled with violence and passion, secrets and lies. It’s terribly dangerous for Diana and death stalks her throughout the book. The plot kept me guessing and I enjoyed that tremendously.
This was a great introduction to a new female character and the world in which she lives. I look forward to reading more about her and her life in the future.
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