Deadshifted-Cassie Alexander

Deadshifted Cassie Alexander St. Martin’s, Dec 31 2013, $7.99 ISBN 9781250037947 Lovers Dr. Asher and Nurse Edie leave blizzard wracked County Hospital where they work at the secret Y4 ward for paranormal patients on the Maraschino cruise ship bound for Hawaii. However, besides seasickness in which she rejects meds due to her pregnancy, Edie feels overwhelmed standing on the sixth deck looking out on the vast ocean while Asher wants to spend the two weeks naked in their cabin. However, soon after departure, Asher recognizes evil from his less savory days. He explains to Edie that the malevolence hired him to steal synthetic blood, which he did for a fee that he cashed but turned the rogue in to the Consortium. Edie says even bad guys need R&R. Soon afterward, people on board become ill with some dying and some going insane. Asher believes his former employer is behind the disaster while Edie concludes patient zero is an Old Testament monster. The fourth Edie Spence paranormal is an exciting thriller that starts slow but accelerates into hyperspeed once the pandemic erupts. The change of venue from the Y4 ward to the ship brings freshness but also leaves behind in the States the strange patients and odd staff who made the previous entries (see Moonshifted, Nightshifted and Shapeshifted) unique. Still the exciting storyline engages the readers as series fans will appreciate this taut tale and its shocking finish. Harriet Klausner