Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Caitlin Kittredge (Author) "I smelled the girl's blood and saw her body in a pool of neon light..." (more)
Key Phrases: caster witches, blood witch, pack law, Detective Wilder, Stephen Duncan, Jane Doe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“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

“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

Product Description

The first book in a thrilling, addictive new series by a talented new voice in dark fantasy. Welcome to Nocturne City, where werewolves, black magicians, and witches prowl the streets at night… Among them is Luna Wilder, a tough-as-nails police officer whose job is to keep the peace. As an Insoli werewolf, Luna travels without a pack and must rely on instinct alone. And she’s just been assigned to find the ruthless killer behind a string of ritualistic murders—a killer with ties to an escaped demon found only in legend…until now.

But when she investigates prime suspect Dmitri Sandovsky, she can’t resist his wolfish charms. Pack leader of a dangerous clan of Redbacks, Dimitri sends her animal instincts into overdrive and threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But Luna and Dimiri will need to rely on each other as they’re plunged into an ancient demon underworld and pitted against an expert black magician with the power to enslave them for eternity…

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312948298
• ISBN-13: 978-0312948290
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,009 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #81 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Urban
  #82 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy

• This is item 1 in The Nocturne City Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Consistently unappealing characters..., September 4, 2008

By	Rawrr (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

It starts out like an old Anita Blake novel: there's a supernatural serial killer on the lose and it's apparently up to a lonely in-the-closet werewolf named Luna, using only her PI skills and "tough as nails" attitude to bring him in.
But the plot isn't nearly as entertaining as it sounds and it quickly becomes convoluted. And unfortunately, none of the characters make up for it, either. Luna's a total b*tch, (not in a good way), and I found it really hard to believe that she was supposed to be some sort of hotshot homicide detective. Luna basically just bumbles around all day, occasionally bullies people, even tries to make an arrest at one point---with no warrant, gun, or badge, (apparently she'd forgotten she was fired, i guess). I know it's fiction, alternate reality or whatever, and it's not like i wanted to read about Luna doing paper work all day, but a little credibility wouldnt have hurt.
And then there's the grieving "russian" alpha werewolf Dimitri, Luna's love interest; a former pimp turned drug dealer prone to temper tantrums. He spends his days smoking pot while he squats in a filthy abandoned movie theater with the rest of his crew. Also, (spoiler alert!), he's into beastiality. You'd think with all those labels the poor guy would manage to have a personality, right? But he doesn't.
I often found myself contemplaiting the author's picture at the back of the book; is she still in high school or something? It would explain a lot...
I also feel like i should mention that i checked out the sequel, (Pure Blood), from my local library. Thought maybe i'd give it another try, (it's actually the only reason i forced myself to finish this book), but it was just more of the same. So head's up: If you liked this book, you'll love the sequel...

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unlikable character and terrible police work , June 13, 2008

By	Meredith McQueen (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This book was terribly disappointing. The main character is a werewolf and werewolves are definitely supposed to be aggressive. But where does it say that being a werewolf gives you the excuse to be a complete and utter [...]? There is a difference between being a "tough-as-nails" heroine and just being rude/emotionally unstable. Luna was sadly the latter.

My other main problem was the police work. While the fantasy genre naturally requires some suspension of belief, I still expect some continuity. Luna is just all over the place, barging into things like a moron. Some people probably enjoy this ability for a character to get herself into constant trouble. Personally, I think it just makes her an idiot. If Luna was written as a vigilante, I would totally roll with it.

On a final note, the emotional growth of the character seems extremely forced throughout the whole book but particularly on the last few pages. I never got into the romantic subplot, since I never grew to like the main character, and maybe that accounts for my apathy... but somehow I doubt it.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nocturne City, Get Hexed..., April 18, 2008

By	melindeeloo (sb,ca) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Night Life the first book in the new Nocturne City urban fantasy series had some interesting things going on. There was plenty of action and a pretty well done paranormal serial killer mystery, but I really didn't warm up to the homicide detective werewolf heroine Luna Wilder.

I realize that we didn't see Luna at her best, it was verging on a full moon and she was having some impulse control problems, but it seemed like this was just a heightening of her regular personality -- she continually rushed into situations where she was outmatched but somehow still managed to survive due to sheer dumb luck. Even though Luna was very successful in the detecting part of her job. It bothered me that though somehow Luna had made detective after working as a beat cop for five years, she didn't seem to have the ability to work within the system. Here Luna commited career suicide by indulging in bouts of insubordination and in violence against a less than savory co-worker which served to lower her to his sluglike level. Adding to her lack of unprofessionalism, she not only got personally involved with another were Dmitri, a former pimp and pusher, who started out initially as a suspect in the murder she was investigating but she also shared case information with him, details that would she would be required to keep secret in order make a clean arrest and be able to take her case to court.

Even though the book would have worked much better if Luna had been a private detective or a bounty hunter which I admit would have been less original -- the book had some things going for it. The Insoli, lonely wolf thing for the packless Luna, along with her loathing of her werewolfness, worked to win her some sympathy, and Dmitri's actual portrayal, despite his less than savory setup, was more honorable than you'd think. I am not sure if Luna's acceptance of her wolf side at the end of the story will help Luna's character in future books, but despite its flaws the story was interesting enough and Luna good enough at solving mysteries that I may give the next one a try.