These books are set in Providence, RI, and it's obvious the author knows the area. She mentioned so many places I've been and things I've done and none of it rang false.

Gwen is a fun character to spend time with. She could have descended into angst and woe and has good reason to do so (like so many male protagonists in her situation) but she doesn't. That isn't in her. Gwen's more a fighter. She values what and who she has in her life and doesn't waste a great deal of time worrying about might-have-beens. It's truly a refreshing change of pace in urban fantasy books. Something else refreshing is Gwen's love life and her attitude toward sex. She has it, a lot of it, with different partners, and that's just another facet of her life. No longing for her one true love, no guilt over being a sexually active woman, just Gwen living her life the way she wants to.

Gwen has some wonderful friends. Marcy, the lawyer, Trudy her partner (though I wouldn't exactly count Trudy as one of Gwen's friends), Frank the retired cop, and Sylvia her landlady who may or may not have earned her retirement money through the world's oldest profession. Then there are her new friends, Wallace "Earl" Edmondson and Ian Forest, both "Elders." Edmondson is less a friend than competition for Gwen's power and we're not at all sure what kind of friend Forest is, or even if he is at all.

I'm skimming over the plot because I don't want to spoil any of it. There are some painful moments in this book, some happy ones, and all in all I enjoyed it very much. ( )

Whizzed through this book. Great characters, fresh take on the elves thing, interesting mystery. Main shortcoming is that there were a lot of pieces left hanging loose. What did happen on the night GiGi's parents died? Why did her uncle kill his brother? Who killed Frank Cross? Who is Jason Cross for real? What is Ian Forrest really up to and why did he work for the Earl? Clearly some of this was meant to set up a sequel but some I think are just loose ends. I just saw that the the third book in the series (Changling) was not picked up by TOR so unless the second book answers a lot of questions, a lot will go hanging. Nevertheless I will definitely look for the sequel -- Shadows in the Starlight (?). ( )

Well, I seem to have reviewed these in the wrong order. At any rate, I liked the first one (this one) more than the second, though both were quite good. Cunningham has an interesting twist on the whole changeling/elf thing that has seriously dark undertones (things elves meets the sopranos) and takes the reader on a hair-raising adventure right along with Gwen. In Shadows in the Darkness, we start out with a bust gone bad and Gwen ousted from the police force almost immediately...what's an out of work changeling (who doesn't know she is one) to do? Become a P.I. of course.

Gwen's character is established as quirky, tough as nails, provocative and without fear. She's determined to do the right thing even when it puts here in danger. As the story continues we are introduced to a series of additional quirky but endearing characters...including Gwen's land-lady who has a special past, her mentor and first partner (forced to retire because of his drinking), the spitfire nun with quite the mouth on her, and the list goes on...characters who are long time friends and brand new ones are introduced in rapid fire succession as the stories continues to build and build. We see Gwen through the death of two of her colleagues, the kidnapping of a child, the death of her partner and more. It's interesting to watch Gwen develop as the story goes on; she's one of the more entertaining characters I've read in a long time!

We're never really given all the keys to the kingdom (as far as solving the case and tying up loose ends) and neither is Gwen. Shadows in the Darkness ends in a somewhat predictable manner...but it's the building up of the story for what is to come that keeps that from dragging this book down to an annoying level. All I can say is, the third one better not take two years to be published! ( )

One of the better examples of the urban fantasy genre; I felt there was a lot of material for a longer series (hopefully there will be more). ( )

Good start. Very much like early Anita Blake. There's plot and sex, but much more of the former. Yay! ( )