Harmony Black

I enjoyed the first in Schaefer's Daniel Faust series, so I was really excited to see the first in his new series as a Kindle First pick. Jumped right on it without even looking at anything else. And now, even though I enjoyed it a lot, I'm kicking myself. "Harmony Black" is set in the same universe as the Faust series and while not as "spoilery" as it seems, I wish I had finished the Faust series first. So I'll start by saying if you want to read or haven't finished the Faust series, do that before reading this.

Like Faust "Harmony Black" is demons/angels fantasy not vampire/werewolves, etc. but while the Faust series is pure "pulp noir" fantasy, Schaefer takes on a different style here- I'll call it "police procedural" fantasy. The title character is an FBI agent and the book centers on her and her team on a case involving child abductions. It could easily be a standard mystery thriller but in this case the crime involves the occult and the agents have their own "magic".

But it is definitely fantasy so set your expectations accordingly. Not light fantasy with a super powerful heroine and hunky vampire boyfriend. It is grittier, with more violence (but not over the top). In mood and style it feels much more like a suspense thriller. No sex and little, if any, foul language but definitely has "demonic" themes.

I think I may have liked this one even more than the Faust book. In the afterward the author mentions that he wasn't sure if he could make Harmony Black an interesting and appealing character (she evidently appears in later Faust books). I think that he was quite successful- I liked her a lot even though she clearly harbors some misconceptions about Faust :) I'll probably still read the rest of the Faust books, I definitely look forward to reading more about Harmony.