The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay

Divorced mother of one, Charlie Madigan, lives in a world where the beings of heaven and hell exist among us, and they aren't the things of Sunday school lessons and Hallmark figurines. In the years since the Revelation, they've become our co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens.

Charlie works for ITF (Integration Task Force). It's her job to see that the continued integration of our new "friends" goes smoothly and everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground Atlanta, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there's nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won't do to set things right. [borrowed from GoodReads]

Firstly can I say that I absolutely loved this book. This is Ms. Gay's debut novel and she has totally kicked butt with it. Not only does she make you love her main character - but she makes her so unique and likeable and the Atlanta that she depicts in her story so unique and detailed that you almost wish you were in this world.

Charlie is a single mom/police officer who makes it her mission to uncover and take down the people pushing the drug "Ash" that has recently hit the streets. Along with her partner Hank (who is a Siren - yes, a male Siren) they go up against all sorts of bad guys to help protect the innocent. Not only was Charlie a fantastic heroine, but so were all the other characters. There are a slew of characters that were very well-written and I can only hope but to hear/read of again.

My only complaint would be that there was no romance in the whole story. I expected Charlie to have a love interest and, in a way she did, it just was not a man, it was her daughter. In the end, I found that refreshing - I liked that Charlie's world revolved around the love for her daughter.

This was a fantastic start to a series that leaves you feeling closure but anticipating the next installment. This was very well done and I highly recommend to lovers of urban fantasy.

This book was provided for review by Pocket Books.