Pavel Federov is the head of Metro Investigations
and a member of the Russian Blue werecat clan of
shapeshifters. His most recent client is Vivian Roussel, a
dealer of Russian art and antiques, who contacts Metro
after she and her brother, Marc, become targets for a
bizarre series of break-ins and attempted kidnappings.
Vivian insists that she and Marc have no idea why they are
being attacked since they have no enemies and their
business dealings are all completely legitimate. However,
Pavel soon learns that the Roussels are high-ranking
members of the American Maine Coon werecat clan, and they
recently had dealings with, Bella, the wife of the Russian
Blue hierarch. Coincidentally, a very precious relic of
the Russian people, the Virgin of Saratov, went missing
three months earlier, and there is some question as to
whether the attacks are connected to the missing painting.
When Vivian discovers that the painting has been smuggled
into her shop in the back of a mirror sent by Bella, she
must put her trust in Pavel and his men to protect both the
sacred painting and her life.
PREY was a difficult story for me. From the very
beginning, the pacing seemed rushed, and almost all of the
scenes are only two or three pages and read like sound
bites. I kept yearning for greater story development, and I
quickly tired of jumping from location to location and
character to character, often without a logical transition.
It also bothered me that many of the scenes suddenly turned
gruesome and violent, sometimes without cause. In fact, in
one scene where the villain kills an innocent feral kitten,
I almost put the book down for good.
The character development also seemed uneven,
especially for Vivian, who often acted against logic and
with an inconsistency that made me question who she really
is. Is she a tough, take charge leader who fights
injustice and fears no one, or is she a timid woman who
cannot defend herself even when she knows danger is near?
Sometimes she acts with complete authority and command, and
other times she doesn't seem capable of simple good sense.
I never really understood her character, which was
unfortunate since it would have given depth to the conflict
and invested me in Pavel and Vivian's struggles.
Pavel, on the other hand, is pretty well defined,
but the actions of his team at Metro were often baffling.
At the beginning of the story, Metro is described as the
best at what they do, but throughout the book, they commit
errors which place the main characters in danger (most of
which only seemed necessary as plot devices). I found
myself comparing their actions to those of a heroine in a
classic B horror movie, who goes outside to investigate a
suspicious noise at night in a flimsy nightgown with no
shoes and a broken flashlight. You just know it won't turn
out well because she's not taking any precautions.
However, fans of DEVOUR, the first book in this
series, will be delighted to see the return of Ian and
Catherine, who agree to help Pavel and Vivian return the
Virgin of Saratov back to Russia. While this book was
definitely not for me, if you're looking for a dark and
gritty plot, and villains you will love to hate, then you
may want to give PREY a try.
Vivian Roussel prefers to keep a low profile—she is, after
all, a werecat, descendant of an ancient demigoddess, and
highly regarded in Manhattan’s nightworld. But when she’s
robbed of a priceless icon, she has only one recourse for
protection.
Surveillance expert and werecat Pavel
Federov never gets personal with his clients.But he’s drawn
to Vivian. Pavel soon discovers that the thief has something
far more dangerous in mind—for he’s marked Vivian as his
next target.
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