Samhain Publishing, $3.50, ISBN 1-59998-916-6
Fantasy Romance, 2008
Poor Aislyn Rivers. Someone – something – is stalking Denver and leaving behind several gruesomely mangled bodies in its wake. The problem is, Aislyn is experiencing her own An American Werewolf in London moments (although she turns into a big bad cat rather than a wolf) but she cannot remember the things she did when she changed. Therefore, she fears that she is the serial killer that is dubbed the Ghost Cat Killer by the media. Our hero Jackson Havens thinks so too. He thinks that he knows Shifters and therefore he knows that Aislyn is a bloodthirsty creature with little mercy for their victims. Of course, the real Ghost Cat Killer is out there somewhere, and our unlikely twosome will have to work together to stop that thing.
Even for Me is an impressive short story because unlike many other short stories out there, this one is not disposable fluff. This is a gritty urban fantasy style story with an actual story and plenty of world building and character development here. I also like the fact that the author doesn’t rush her characters into an unconvincing clinch.
Without giving away too many details, let’s just say that my only problem with this otherwise enjoyable story is that much of the story hinges on the heroine keeping crucial information from the hero. It will be fine if Aislyn is doing something on her to stop the Ghost Cat Killer, but she isn’t, not really. She tends to mope around, wrapped in her own cloak of emo angst, even after her supposed best friend died after the poor dear was killed for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. If Aislyn is a little more proactive and less wrapped up in her “Yeah, yeah, people died, but OH, MY LIFE IS SO SAD!” angst, this one would actually be very good indeed, I feel.
If there is a story that you have to check out from the On the Prowl line, let it be this one. It’s not perfect, but it tries and succeeds in being different yet entertaining to a considerable degree, so it’s definitely worth a look if you ask me.
