Second Skin (Nocturne City, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Caitlin Kittredge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

When werewolves from Nocturne City’s oldest packs start showing up shot through the head execution-style, police officer Luna Wilder must find out what’s killing them and why…before she becomes the next victim.

Luna traces the killings to a band of shapeshifters made of smoke and shadow who drink the blood of their victims for strength. Believed to exist only in legend, their race is all too real—and now their leader, Lucas Kennuka, is out to wrest Luna’s heart from her beloved Dmitri. To make matters worse, Dmitri is suffering from a mysterious illness brought on by a demon bite, and his condition grows more grave with each passing day. Now Luna must rely on Lucas to defeat an invisible enemy—a serial were-killer bringing death and destruction to all who stand in its path…

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge:

“Dark and cutting edge" —Romantic Times

“I loved the mystery and the smart, gutsy heroine.”—Karen Chance, New York Times bestselling author of Claimed by Shadow

“Don’t go to bed with this book—it will keep you up all night. It’s that good.”—Lilith Saintcrow, national bestselling author of Working for the Devil

“Luna is tough, smart, and fierce, hiding a conflicted and insecure nature behind her drive for justice and independence, without falling into cliché. It's also just a lot of fun to read.” --Kat Richardson, national bestselling author of Greywalker

“Fast-paced, sexy and witty with many more interesting characters than I have time to mention. I'm looking forward to reading more stories in the exciting Nocturne City series.” --Fresh Fiction

“Wow, I am still thinking about this book. The last time I reacted to a book this way, it was the first Mercy Thompson book by Patricia Briggs. If you are looking for a book that seamlessly blends a police procedural with a paranormal, go out and get this book” --Night Owl Reviews

“A tense, gritty urban fantasy that grips the audience from the onset.” --The Mystery Gazette

“NIGHT LIFE dives right into the action, and carried me along for the ride…If the following books are written with the same care and interest as NIGHT LIFE, they will be a welcome addition to this fantasy genre.” --Arm Chair Interviews

From the Back Cover

When werewolves from Nocturne City’s oldest packs start showing up shot through the head execution-style, police officer Luna Wilder must find out what’s killing them and why…before she becomes the next victim.

SECOND SKIN

Luna traces the killings to a band of shapeshifters made of smoke and shadow who drink the blood of their victims for strength. Believed to exist only in legend, their race is all too real—and now their leader, Lucas Kennuka, is out to wrest Luna’s heart from her beloved Dmitri. To make matters worse, Dmitri is suffering from a mysterious illness brought on by a demon bite, and his condition grows more grave with each passing day. Now Luna must rely on Lucas to defeat an invisible enemy—a serial were-killer bringing death and destruction to all who stand in its path…

Praise for the Nocturne City series:

“Dark and cutting edge.” —Romantic Times

“A winner.”—Karen Chance

 “Hot, hip, and fast-paced.”—Lilith Saintcrow

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031294831X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312948313
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #631,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caitlin Kittredge is the author of the Nocturne City series, as well as several short stories. She is the proud owner of an English degree, two cats, a morbid imagination, a taste for black clothing, punk rock, and comic books. She's lucky enough to write full time and watches far too many trashy horror movies. Visit her website at www.caitlinkittredge.com to learn more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You Have Got To Be Kidding..., June 3, 2009

By 

Book Fan (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Second Skin (Nocturne City, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow. Where do I start? There is so much I didn't like about this installment of this series. The general concept of the series is great but, when I dislike the main character it makes it tough for me to have any sympathy or empathy for that character.

Luna's general nasty disposition and rudeness, makes her an unlikeable character. Sure sometimes it can be funny, but mostly she lashes out at people who don't deserve it.

Others have given a synopsis of the story. So I'll just point out the things that really bothered me about this book.


SPOILERS BELOW

While investigating a case that she was not supposed to, Luna knowingly participates in aiding and abetting a killer. Said killer then tries to kill her on several more occasions and she still does nothing to bring the killer to justice as she swore she would do when she initially got involved in the case.

Her relationship with Dmitri is shakey at best, but she doesn't do anything to make it any better. On several occasions she goes out of her way to humiliate and embarass him. (As a side note: It's been a while since I read that book, but, didn't Dmitri get bitten by the daemon as a result of trying to help Luna in the first place?)

Since the main character doesn't appeal to me on any level I most likely will not continue to follow this series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be ready for a fight..., February 18, 2011

By 

A. McKinnon (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Second Skin (Kindle Edition)

No plot summaries or spoilers, though be warned I do touch upon the romance aspect a bit.

This is BOOK 3.
Series:
Book 1: Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
Book 2: Pure Blood (Nocturne City, Book 2)

HIGH LEVEL: This isn't my favorite series, but its gritty, edgy style is sometimes exactly what I'm looking for. The characters are strong, the magic is visceral and the conflicts are desperate. The magic is intense. You'll find werewolves, witches, demons and any manner of cruel, evil beasts. The atmosphere is dark and wretched and hope is sometimes elusive, but always ready for a fight. It isn't the smoothest series and "romance" is closer to a four letter word than anything you might be familiar with. It isn't sexy, but it is tough with equal parts wry humor and grit rooted in a procedural cop mystery with a magical twist.

That said, this book took some real patience to read. I'm one of the most stubborn, contrary women I know- but even I wanted to punch my dear Luna (the heroine) in the jaw more than once. Don't get me wrong- I like her and I still like her, but her thorns grew more than teeth in this installment. Her normally obstinate nature, became completely obnoxious. She just seemed to be picking unnecessary fights constantly and it went beyond humorous. There wasn't much character growth here.

PLOT: was pretty good- brought in some new creatures, new magic. The use of a couple of supporting characters was also good. It left me with a solid impression of the story, but there was so much more to this book emotionally that just felt wrong. The character's prickly nature made it hard to stomach. The romance took a nosedive in a seemingly pointless fashion. I can only hope that this gets fixed in later books. Seriously- you'd have to be a saint, or a serious sinner, to fall for Luna and Dmitry should be getting an award, not the cold shoulder.

HOWEVER: The final resolution was, as usual, well done and satisfying and the set up at the end felt right- as if future books will finally have something of a solid base to work from. It was unfortunate that the relationships were somewhat torpedoed in the process, but at the end I was glad I read it and I plan on continuing the series- on another day when I'm feeling somewhat self-destructive and masochistic.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Karen Chance's two highly energetic, very sexy vamp series Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1) and the related series (start reading Cassandra's series first) Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1)
Jeaniene Frost's vamp mystery packed with action Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
Jennifer Estep's stone-magic wielding, hard, cold, vicious assassin Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1)
Kim Harrison's witch/vamp/pixie team of private eyes in Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)
Lilith Saintcrow's two series, both darker and far more gritty Night Shift (Jill Kismet, Hunter, Book 1) and Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1)
Nalini Singh's creative use of angels and vampires in Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Won't be reading any more in this series., January 9, 2010

By 

Shirley U Jest "Shirley" (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Second Skin (Nocturne City, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

This series started off with a good premise - a hard-as-nails police officer, plenty of paranormal stuff happening. But after a while, I grew to dislike the heroine. She has a nasty temper, which she does little about and feels little remorse for, which makes her a jerk. (Her relationship with her boyfriend is borderline abusive - and like the typical abuser, she cries when he leaves her). The story also became unbelievable -- she is rewarded for her hard-headed, bad behavior by being promoted, in a laughably unlikely plot twist.

I would like to have seen this character grow and develop, but she just doesn't. It's bad when all the supporting characters are so much more interesting than the main one. I wanted to go spend time with her sister and grandmother, who are practicing withces, and leave this heroine to her destructive and self-pitying rampages.