Draw One in the Dark [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah A Hoyt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2008

Every one of us has the beast inside. But for Kyrie Smith, the beast is no metaphor. Since she was 15, when she first shape-shifted into a savage, black panther, Kyrie has questioned her humanity. Although she's managed to keep her inner beast secret most of the time, the panther occasionally emerges to strike unbidden. Terrified she'll hurt someone while in panther form, Kyrie moves from town to town, searching for a way to feel human again.

 

Kyrie's lonely life changes forever while waitressing at a cheap diner in Goldport, Colorado. Investigating frantic screams from the parking lot, Kyrie stumbles upon a blood-spattered dragon crouching over a mangled human corpse. The dragon shape-shifts back into her co-worker, Tom, naked, dazed and unable to remember how he got there.

 

Thrust into an ever-changing world of shifters, where shape-shifting dragons, giant cats and other beasts wage a secret war behind humanity's back, Kyrie may find the answers she seeks—with help from Tom, a mythical object called the Pearl of Heaven, and her own inner beast.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah A. Hoyt has sold a dozen novels in various genres, including her new Musketeers Mysteries series, starting with Death of a Musketeer, and her acclaimed Shakespearean fantasy series, which started with the Mythopoeic award finalist, Ill Met by Moonlight. An avid history buff and longtime reader of sci-fi, fantasy, and mysteries Sarah has published over three dozen short stories in esteemed magazines such as Asimov's, Analog, Amazing and Weird Tales, as well as several anthologies. Residing in Colorado with her husband, two teen boys and a pride of cats, Sarah is hard at work on her next dozen novels.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Baen (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416555420
• ISBN-13: 978-1416555421
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,198,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Portugal far more years ago than I like to admit to, in a -- then very small -- place called Granja (lugar da Granja -- lugar possibly transtating roughly as hamlet -- but literally translating as "place") in the freguesia (allegiance/fiefdom) of Aguas-Santas (Holy Waters) in the Conselho (council) of Maia in the district of Porto.

All those designations are changed now, but as I like to tell people I grew up somewhere between Elizabethan England and Victorian England with just a little of the twentieth century thrown in.

This might be exaggerating -- not much -- but the truth is that I did go to a village school and learn to write with a quill pen. Though I used ballpoint pens at home. I penned my first "novel" with ballpoint at around the age of six. And since it was pretty easy -- all twenty pages of Enid Blyton rip-off -- I abandoned what I (by then) suspected was an unattainable aspiration of becoming an angel when I grew up. I decided instead to be a novelist.

Once this was decided, of course, it didn't take all that long at all. Only some... cough... twenty years, during which I acquired a degree from the University of Porto (where we didn't use quill pens), found that employment for English majors was at best scant, moved to the US, changed my name, got married, worked at a variety of jobs from multilingual translator to retail clerk, had two kids and a varying and scary number of cats and read far more than is good for any human being.

So, now I live in Colorado with my husband, two teen sons who are both taller and stronger -- and far more handsome -- than I and four indoor cats, plus a variety of Not-Our-Cats(tm) who beg food at the kitchen door and for whom we provide facilities summer and winter. But who are not... cough... our cats. Ever.

I've been telling lies for fun and profit since 1994 (I did it for free long before that.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greasy spoon, smooth writing., October 24, 2006

By 

LaughingLion "I am Lion, read me review!" (North of Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Draw One in the Dark (Hardcover)

This book takes place in and a round a greasy spoon in Goldport Colorado. It follows the adventures of some tough minded night shifters working there that are just barely managing to keep their heads above water, right up until it rains.

I'm usually good at spotting plot twists and this book kept me guessing and disbelieving until the end. Kudos to the newest author on my must buy list.

It should also be noted that i read this book immediately after something by my favorite author and this book is still getting such a high rating.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the cover, just buy the book, November 16, 2006

By 

Katherine A. Paulk "Kate" (PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Draw One in the Dark (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful fast, funny book packaged in the worst cover I've ever seen. My copy, the cover has been removed and destroyed with prejudice.

What's inside the cover is a modern take on the ancient shape-shifting myths, wrapped around an adventure as a young man terrified of losing his soul to the dragon within fights to stay ahead of Triads, mysterious killers, and a lovely young woman who is also a panther and who attracts him much more than he wants to admit.

I couldn't put it down - it's a fantastic read. Just ignore the cover.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Families, friends, love, loyalty, and trust..., June 7, 2007

By 

Gayle Surrette "omnivorous reader" (Brandywine, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Draw One in the Dark (Hardcover)

Kyrie Smith had been looking for a place to belong. She thought she'd found it in Goldport, Colorado. She had a job as a waitress in the Athens, a Greek diner. She'd even managed to rent a small house with a patch of yard for a garden. It may not seem like much to others but it meant stability and normalcy for Kyrie -- who occasionally turned into a panther. Life was pretty good for a change, that is until Tom Ormson missed his shift at the diner and Kyrie found him naked and covered with blood next to a body in the parking lot.

But that's not all, she'd seen Tom as he'd changed from Nordic dragon to man. And then there was the lion that also seemed to be strangely compelling and not what he seemed in the diner's parking lot. Kyrie went from believing herself the only shapeshifter in the world to meeting two. One accepted and loved by his parents and one who'd been tossed out onto the streets when he first changed forms. For Kyrie, who'd never known family she found that maybe she could at least have friends.

There are at least four plot threads that intersect in Draw One in the Dark. They are all deftly woven together with changing points of view. It's also not a straight narrative but the flashbacks and changing point of view are not confusing and seem to fill in information at just the right time. The characters are slowly revealed to be more than what they seemed at first. While shapeshifting is not a new trope, it is handled in a different manner showing the reader the drawbacks to shapeshipfting. It's impact on relationships, family bonds, livelihood, and love.