Really good. You could see the sort of cliffhanger coming but she brought together the arc that belong to this story. The small cliffhanger was more of a pointer to where we're going next and I don't mind that. Also liked the new dimension of what's going on between her and Alex.

For myself Olson's stories tend to be a hit or miss for me. This one was definitely a hit. I feel like we got a firmer grasp on the characters and I really enjoyed the plot in this one. I think I like this one a little bit better than the previous book.

In this book, the Alex and his BPI team are called out to go to Switch Creek, WI, where there was a mass murder of police office and office personnel. Right after one of their officers made an arrest of someone being a possible shade. During their investigation, the BPI find out that the chief of police was actually dirty. Could the murders be linked to the suspected shade? The dirty chief? Hector?

One thing I want to point out, the back cover says "the teams gets a call from Switch Creek, Wisconsin, where a twenty-something goth has been arrested on suspicion of being a shade." The person arrested was Aiden Kerns and there was not mention in the book with him being a goth. I don't know what happened there.

Overall, I liked this book. I felt like we get to know the characters a little bit better and they don't seem quite one dimensional. I liked this plot a little bit better because it is a little bit of trying to figure out the motivation of the killer(s).

One thing that bothered me about the story was the introduction of Kim Faraday (a new character who knows Jill Hadley). During Agent Hadley's internal thoughts we find out that Faraday is Vietnamese (or at least part). This bothered me because most of the other characters ethnicities is not stated (I'm assuming that much of them are white) and it sets white as the default.

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

Switchback is another fun, if short installment in the Nightshade series.We have the head of the FBI Bureau of Preternatural Investigation team (BPI), Alex, coming off several weeks of recovery from a battle in the previous book. The team has been running a long trying to do their best without him. His second in command, and best friend, has been MIA for most of these weeks. Lindy, the second eldest known vampire/shade and BPI consultant, is going off on her own investigations, looking for her older brother and villain from book one.

It doesn’t take long after Alex rejoins his team that word comes in about several killings in a small town outside of Chicago, as in pretty much their entire police force was killed in the police station. BPI is on the case, as it looks like vampire killings. And there is a special needs boy that is missing.

While these stories are short, they are full of action and investigations for our FBI team. I’m really enjoying these characters. They all have different personalities that mix together really well.

The biggest fault that I have with this book, is that it ends (like the previous book) on a cliffhanger. I’m not anxiously awaiting book three.

Narration
Luke Daniels continues to do an amazing job with this series. I love his narration. He always does a great job with picking voices of both male and female characters. His pace and tone are always on point. If you’ve never tried Luke Daniels, you’re really missing out.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The second book in the Nightshades series suffers from the same issue with typos as the first. It keeps the same appeal too. The book is a mix of prime time procedural and vampire thriller. It will not be for everyone, but if you liked the first, then you will like this one too.

I genuinely am enjoying this way more than I ever expected. I am very excited for the last one. Kinda wish it wouldn't end though.

RTC (but if there's a reason that I didn't give Nightshades a 5-star rating I can no longer remember why. This is such amazing urban and vampire fantasy!

UPDATE: THERE WASN'T! I gave Nightshades a 5-star rating, too! [Well deserved!])

3.5 stars

In Switchback, we get more of the story from women's POVs and I think that makes all the difference.

This is the second novella in the series by Melissa F. Olsen. Switchback further develops the world and characters created in Nightshades.

Everyone at the Chicago BPI pod seems to be hiding at least one secret - either from their team mates or from themselves. Switchback seems to be about secrets coming out.

This is a great novella. Snappy and fast paced. Great characters and worldbuilding seem to be a the standard for this author.

I'm loving this series.