Night Shift is the first in a new urban fantasy series from Lilith Saintcrow and was my first introduction to her as an adult writer. All I can say is, the sun doesn’t just rise in her worlds - it explodes in a rainbow of blinding light.

Jill Kismet is our heroine and in true urban fantasy style is hard, gritty and very very kick arse, but of course we get to see her cry (behind stylish sunglasses, like all tough chicks do). She’s likeable, and fans of Kim Harrison and Karen Chance heroines are going to love her. She’s tough and independent, not so good at taking help, but excels at taking guilt unwarranted.

The writing style is such that you live and breathe every moment, you can smell the flames burning, feel the heat of the fires, feel the terror as the monsters come and your heart breaks too.

However, as absorbed as I was in this book I read the entire story thinking I was missing something. It reads like an arc, or a continuation from a short story perhaps, something I haven’t read if it exists.  The world building is left a little short; it just feels that there is more we should know. We keep getting referred back to Jill’s past, and to Mikhail, but despite all the flash back, we never really get a true sense of her life before, or her life with Mikhail. This would be fine if it weren’t part of the major cause for angst and the trigger for revelation. What should have been quite an emotional scene of self –awareness falls short because, in this one area, we just aren’t being given enough information.

Now that we’re a little more familiar with the world and what’s going on, the rest of the series should be just sensational. The characters will hopefully be gaining a little more depth, and I’m actually looking forward to the developments with Saul and Perry. Should make for a great book two!