Shade City: The Dead Side Blues

                Shade City: The Dead Side Blues is not a book I would normally pick up to read. The title conjured up visions of a mystery involving blues music, a genre of which I have no interest. The cover, at a quick glance, didn’t grab my attention, at least not until I figured out how the cigarette on the cover art pertained to the story. However, I am so glad that I took the chance and read this book because it is a great read. Dante, the main character, has the special talent of being able to touch someone and seeing if they are possessed by a “shade” which is basically a deceased person, not a ghost but a variation of one. He can force the shade to leave the body, thus allowing the person to be free from possession, by getting the shade to inhale sage smoke by way of sage cigarettes he carries with him. Dante also carries around an antique watch that is possessed by a twelve year old girl named Violet who helps him to expel these shades from the bodies. The book has an interesting premise and has a bit of everything including mystery, romance, sex and the supernatural. The characters are interesting and the author has created a whole other world called the Dead Side. I’m hoping that this is one book of many that I’ll be reading by this author. It is entertaining and fun to read. It worked well on my ereader with perfect formatting and editing. The cover didn’t catch my eye at first but did make sense when I read how Dante gets rid of shades. This is definitely worth the read.