Gentleman Takes a Chance

One of the things that I love when reading a Sarah Hoyt novel is how each and every character is personal to the reader. That pattern doesn't change with the sequel to "Draw One In The Dark". In Goldport, Colorado, someone is killing shifters. An ancient cabal of shifters, simply known as the Ancient Ones, are coming to town to kill whoever it is, be it shifter or human. With that as the premise to "Gentleman Takes A Chance", the author picks right up where she left off in the first book of the series. The heroes (and heroine) of the novel must face old enemies and new alike, while struggling to hide their identities as shifters from the outside world. Tremendously fun and a great followup novel.

The second in a series about urban shapeshifters, this is a fun story by itself as well as a chance to see the familiar faces from Draw One in the Dark. The characters Sarah brings to life are very entertaining and interesting. She makes shifting shape very believable. From ancient alligators to kittens you never know what's going to happen next.

Sarah Hoyt is a prolific writer, with more than a dozen novels, and a multitude of short stories in print. The quality of that writing stands up to her quantity, with several series worth reading. "Gentleman Takes a Chance" is the second in a urban fantasy series, dealing with shapeshifters hiding among us, and protecting both their secret, and each other. The killing of shifters is taboo, even if they are killing humans, and threatening the secret. Now, someone is killing shifters, and the three main characters--Kyrie, a panther shifter, her boyfriend Tom, a dragon shifter, and police detective Rafiel Thrall, a lion shifter--need to discover who is doing it before more powerful shifters take matters into their own hands. Not quite a para-normal romance, but close. If you haven't read Hoyt before, this isn't a bad series to try her on. The Shakespearian-based series that started with "Ill Met by Moonlight" would be another one.

I really liked the previous book in this world, "Draw One In The Dark". This one is a noticeably better. The characters are better developed than a many writers manage in the fourth or fifth book in a series. The world is well drawn and wider and weirder than even the first book would lead you to believe. I adore it when authors don't throw everything into the first book and let you discover new places and people along the way it is so much more realistic than covering the characters same stomping grounds over, and over, and over and over again with only very small over dramatized changes. Kyrie & Tom, Keith and the rest of the people we knew have all grown a bit since we saw them and it is the type of growth that makes you like both character and writer more.

Gentleman Takes a Chance (2008) is the second urban fantasy novel in the Shifters series, following Draw One in the Dark. In the previous volume, Kyrie, Tom and Rafiel eliminated one cause of shifter fatalities in Goldport. Tom's father -- Edward Ormson -- realized the reasons for Tom's ungovernable behavior and even recognized his own shortcomings as a father. Edward soon learned to respect his son and tried to show his newfound concern for him. He offered Tom various gifts, but Tom resisted his cash offerings. Eventually Edward came up with the perfect gift: title to the former Athens diner. Tom renamed it The George. In this novel, Tom Ormson has been taking cooking lessons and cleaning the equipment. He proves to be quite good at the former menu and even initiates a few changes which are well received. While the former customers have mostly remained, the changes in decor and menu have attracted new ones. Kyrie Smith is half owner of the diner with Tom. She continues to work as a waitress, but now puts in even more time in the business. The George is beginning to feel like home to her. Edward has returned to New York City to prepare for his move to Denver. After the move, he will have time to interact more with his son and maybe become a bit more comfortable as a parent. Meanwhile, he keeps asking Tom to go to Denver to set up the communication facilities. Rafiel Trall is still interested in Kyrie, but has realized that she doesn't really think of him as anything other than a friend. He feels that friendship is better than nothing and even experiences a sense of comradeship with Tom. After all, they have both saved each other's lives and have fought together against their enemies. Keith Vorpal is now working parttime at The George. He is helping Kyrie to wait on the tables. He apparently enjoys the companionship. Conan Lung is the real name of Two Dragons, the Triad thug who helped beat up Tom in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Tom had ripped off his arm and beat him on the head with it. After two months of mindless wandering, Conan had finally returned to the Triad. Now he is called Red Dragon and has one arm shorter that the other while it is regrowing. Dante Dire is an executioner for the Ancient Ones, He has centuries of experience at fighting in his shifted form and a sadistic temperament. He has come to town to investigate the death of the beetle grubs. In this story, Goldport is having a blizzard. Such weather is nothing new to longtime Goldport residents, but the city is mostly closing down. Only emergency personnel are still working. The police are not responding to routine calls, but deaths at the Aquarium are more than routine. Rafiel Trall is checking out the Aquarium in lion form. A human arm has been found within a shark with a cellphone still in its hand. The police initially figure that someone had fallen in the shark tank, but more human bones are found at the bottom of the tank. Then Rafiel smells t