PENUMBRA is book three of the Spook Squad series by
Keri Arthur,
originally published in 2005, then republished in 2013.
Originally, Arthur intended a fourth book in the series,
but publisher demands meant that the fourth was never
written. Arthur has stated on her website that she will
not return to the series. At the time of re-release,
Arthur did add an epilogue to this third book to provide a
small amount of closure to the series, but be forewarned,
the end of Penumbra does not resolve many of the
overarching questions from the series. Readers will be
best served in reading this series in order, because this
book relies heavily on knowledge from the first two.
Sam is more than human, and I've been eagerly awaiting the
discovery of exactly what she is. Penumbra gets us fairly
close to the explanation of the genesis of Sam. The book
opens with Sam deciding to leave her partner Gabriel in
the
Special Investigations Unit (SIU) on the Spook
Squad
because he refuses to work with her and sticks her at a
desk doing busy work. Gabriel is still trying to prevent
himself from getting close to Sam, as he believes that all
his previous life and work partners have died because of
him. Sam's frustration leads her to accept a new job in
SIU protecting a clone replacement of a government
minister, while acting as bait to draw out the evil
Hopeworth faction that SIU is after.
Despite Gabriel saying he wants nothing to do with Sam, he
cant stomach her being in danger as bait, and so he defies
SIU and tries to protect her while staying in the shadows
himself. The attraction between Gabriel and Sam continues
to crescendo in book three, and Gabriel and Sam learn more
about their mysterious connection.
If you can resign
yourself to not knowing many of the answers to the oh-so-
interesting questions that crop up in this series,
PENUMBRA
and the preceding two books are fun and lively reads, with
lots of fascinating paranormal mysteries and some fun
urban
fantasy. Arthur is a favorite author of mine, and while
this book definitely feels like an earlier authorial voice
than her wonderful Riley Jenson or Dark Angel books, I did
enjoy the Spook Squad series.
Agent Sam Ryan wants out of the Special Investigations
Unit.
She’s sick of the attitude from her partner, Gabriel
Stern.
She’s sick of the paperwork. Most of all, she’s sick of
feeling lonely. But her boss isn’t about to let her go
that
easily. He gives Sam a choice: either stay stuck in her
office or guard a clone replacement of Dan Wetherton, a
government minister. Sam reluctantly chooses the latter—
even
though she suspects she’s being used as bait to draw out
the
SIU’s elusive nemesis.
Gabriel would like nothing better than to be on his own,
without a partner to hold him back. Then he learns that
Sam
has been assigned to protect Wetherton—or whatever it is
that’s replaced him. Wetherton’s clone could have come
from
only one place: Hopeworth, the military base that contains
the secrets of Sam’s past. Determined to protect her,
Gabriel is drawn into a fight against unspeakable evil.
And
all too soon, Sam and Gabriel discover that the connection
between them is far more powerful than anyone could ever
have imagined.
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