Review – Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, Book 1) by Faith Hunter (5/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. Currently Hunter has three books sold in this series. The second book “Blood Cross” is due out on Jan 5 of 2010. I really, really loved this book. It was fast-paced action with a great world, great characters, and an interesting mythos behind Jane’s character.

Jane Yellowrock is a Skinwalker, at least she thinks she is. She doesn’t remember anything before her twelfth birthday and was raised in an Orphanage from that point on. She carries the Beast inside her and they dwell in harmony in one body. Her specific talents have lead her to hunting rogue vampires as a way to make a living. Her current assignment leads her to New Orleans to hunt a rogue that is taking out both humans and vampries alike. This time though, she may be in over her head, this vampire rogue is more than it seems. During the chase things get strange as she begins to regain memories from her past.

This is one fast paced novel. Jane is always on the go and there is a ton of action. The action scenes are very well done and, paired with Jane’s humourous and sarcastic tone of voice, this book is a very fun read. All of the characters are very well-developed. There is a hint of sexual tension between both Jane and Leo (head vampire) as well as between Jane and Rick (a bad-boy who wanted the job that Jane got). Jane’s a good girl at heart though and never lets things get out of hand with the boys. Really the things that made this book shine were Jane’s unflappable personality and the tightly written action scenes; then there were the guns, the bikes, the dancing…all of those things made the book a fun and exciting read.

The plot was very well executed and very gripping. Definitely a page turner. I like the world that Hunter has created and hope that it is clarified better in the next novel. The writing style itself is very dense. If you miss a word you could miss something important; despite this it was a very quick read and hard to put down. If I have any complaints with this book it is a small gripe; I didn’t like the writing style that Hunter used for the parts where Jane is Beast. I understood that she was trying to give Beast a distinct voice, but well, Beast sounded a bit like a savage or Barbarian and the halting writing style was tough to read at first. By the end of the book I got used to it, so I can’t complain too much.

Will I read the next book? You betcha’ I will. I am eager to learn the mystery behind Jane’s past and to watch her further interactions with the residents of New Orleans. I think if you liked the early Anita Blake books, Jaz Parks, or Kate Daniels series you will get into this series. It focuses on the action and the mystery, not the romance, and was my type of book!