Early Novella Review – Cruel Fate (Cainsville, Book 5.6) by Kelley Armstrong (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Subterranean
Release Date: April 30, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1596069060
Stand Alone or Series: 5.6th book in the Cainsville series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Three years after discovering that her biological parents are convicted serial killers, Olivia finally has her life back, and it’s better than ever. She loves her new job, as investigator for notorious defense attorney Gabriel Walsh. She has Gabriel, too, as they settle in together, dividing their time between Chicago and Cainsville. Olivia’s also settled into her role as the legendary Mallt-y-Nos to Cainsville’s fae population. The only dream unfulfilled is seeing her father freed from jail, where he’s been wrongly imprisoned for over twenty years. Now that wish is finally coming true. Todd Larsen is a free man. Someone, however, doesn’t want him to stay that way. Todd may have been in prison for crimes he didn’t commit, but there’s one he did—the murder of a serial killer, whose death launched the chain of events that led to Todd’s incarceration. Before Todd can settle in with Olivia and Gabriel, the body of his one and only victim surfaces, along with planted clues directing the police to their doorstep. Does someone have a personal grudge against Todd? Or is it a fae targeting Olivia with the one threat she can’t ignore? Olivia needs to find out who’s behind this, before her father is ripped from her again…for good this time.”
This book takes place even longer after the main series than the last novella. It was a nice addition to the Cainsville series. It’s a pretty quick read but you learn more about Olivia’s parents and there is a good mystery here. This novella doesn’t stand alone very well, so I would recommend reading the Cainsville series before reading this.
Olivia and Gabriel have finally managed to get Olivia’s dad, Todd, out of prison. However, someone does not want Todd to stay out of prison. Todd was put into prison for crimes he didn’t commit, but there is one crime he did commit and it’s about to be revealed. What first appears to be a straightforward case of revenge suddenly starts to take some interesting turns that make Olivia think the fae are involved.
I continue to really enjoy this world and these characters. The story is well written and presents a well done mystery full of twists and turns. I loved seeing how mature Olivia and Gabriel’s relationship has become and seeing how they balance everything with their fae responsibilities.
Overall this was a very well written novella. I would recommend if you have read the previous books in this series and enjoyed them. This is a very well done urban fantasy series with some great mystery and fae elements. This is a very quick read though, so be prepared for that.
