Below are the books that I read in June and my review for each. 

I'm trying to do the Fold Reading Challenge to diversify my reading. In June, it suggested to read a book by a Cree author. And I did! In June, I'll be looking to read a book translated by an independent Canadian press.

“Three days?” John “Hex” Robertson frowned at his boss, or at least at the video image of her on his computer. Field agents like him were assigned to cover large territories within their respective regions and tended to move around a lot. He was currently in a temporary office at a sheriff’s station in Bloxham County, Florida, while she was at division headquarters.

“Why weren’t we called in sooner?” he demanded, already envisioning the trail going cold. “Violent crimes involving supernaturals are supposed to be flagged.”

Part of the Department of Public Safety, the State Watchmen were at the top of the law enforcement pyramid. Within the Watchmen, the Occult Division had been specifically designed to handle cases with paranormal elements. Although agents mostly participated in mundane investigations—using their special skills to assist regular law-enforcement and garner goodwill—supernatural crimes were their raison d’etre. A paranormal homicide should have come to their attention immediately, not three days later.

Lieutenant Corina Adams didn’t appear any more pleased with the delay. “The Hopkins’ police are feeling hostile toward supernaturals right now. A fire mage severely burned one of their own during a routine traffic stop. They’re out for blood and confident they’ve identified the perp.”

“Who’s the suspect?”

“Sarah Walker, a lone shifter. The victim, Brian Johnson, was her boss at Trust’s Museum of Ancient Cultures. He was mauled in his office while Miss Walker was in the building. She found the body and called 911. The detectives didn’t buy her description of a masked man breaking into the museum. The security guards on duty didn’t see anything, and she didn’t have a mark on her, though she claims she confronted the intruder.”

He asked the obvious question. “Doesn’t the museum have security cameras?”

“Yes,” his lieutenant answered. “They inexplicably malfunctioned at the time of the murder.”

“You called her a lone shifter,” he said. “Sarah Walker isn’t part of a pack?”

“No, and she’s unregistered too. The detectives heading the investigation didn’t know she was a supernatural until they took DNA samples and fingerprints from all the museum employees. They ran a rapid test, and her sample revealed the markers for a shifter. Those traces were not present in her routine bloodwork six months earlier.”

Hex arched his eyebrow. “Breaking HIPAA laws now, are you?”

Lieutenant Adams gave him a sour look. “I’m using common sense. Her doctor would have notified the CDC of a possible metamorph infection had she shown signs at her last checkup.”

“Those signs are hard to detect,” he pointed out. “The fact that routine forensic swabbing picked it up suggests she changed form less than twenty-four hours before the sample was taken. Assuming her doctor didn’t overlook her condition, she’s newly turned. Any other unexplained attacks in her vicinity?”

He’d seen inexperienced shifters struggle to control their new instincts and abilities. Lost tempers could erupt in violence.

“None that I turned up.”

“We don’t have many shifters in this state,” he said. “Statistically she’s probably a werewolf. A small pack of red wolves broke away from North Carolina a few years ago, but they’re mostly inland. There are occasionally rogue wolves and coyote shifters. She could also be an ailuranthrope. Cat shifters tend to be more solitary.”

“Then the question is whether she’s a tabby or a panther.” Lieutenant Adams gave him a pointed look. “You’ve got more experience with shifters than any other field agent. Do your own investigation and see where it leads you. Like I said, the locals have a score to settle. Miss Walker has the misfortune of being the first paranormal to cross their path, and they’re pissed that she slipped away during questioning. When she didn’t immediately return to her condo, they assumed she’d skipped town.”

Now he was intrigued. “Did she?”

“No, she showed up for work today. Now the detectives look at that as returning to the scene of the crime. Read the file I sent you, watch the interview video, and get up to speed. You’ll meet our tech analyst, Zoe Martin, at the scene.”

Hex knew the technomancer. Zoe was literally a tech wizard who worked magic with electronics. Even if she couldn’t recover the museum’s security footage, she’d determine how it had been sabotaged.

“Watch your back,” his lieutenant ordered him.

Hex narrowed his eyes. “You learn something from your crystal ball?”

The question wasn’t flippant. His lieutenant was a talented diviner—a traditionalist who preferred to use the crystal ball passed down to her from her great-grandmother.

“I know there’s more to this case than a novice lycanthrope losing control,” she said. “The locals won’t be happy to have a spellcaster take over. Don’t expect a warm welcome.”

“I never do.” He ended the call and logged on to review the case file.

Below are the books that I read in May and my review for each. I guess I liked blue in May, as all the books I read during the month, including the one I'm reading now, have blue covers.

I'm trying to do the Fold Reading Challenge to diversify my reading. In May, it suggested to read a Historical Fiction by a South Asian author. I tried, but it was a DNF (which I never post about). So, I read a Medial Thriller by a South Asian author. Though I take some liberties with their suggestions, I am still diversifying my reading. And that is the point. In June, I'll be reading a book by a Cree author. And I already have one sitting on my bookshelf for that.