Daisy Johanssen isn't a normal run-of-the-mill police clerk. Then again she doesn't exactly live in a run-of-the-mill town either. Daisy lives in Pemkowet, Michigan, a tourist destination for all things paranormal and current home to the Norse goddess Hel. Daisy is Hel's liaison between the mortal world and the world of the eldritch. Fathered by an incubus and a human woman, Daisy walks a very shaky line between the worlds, and it is her job to make sure those worlds remain safe in their interactions with each other. Lucky for her, she has a nice, normal boyfriend who's accepted her for who she is. Too bad he has a secret that could destroy the little town of Pemkowet.

AUTUMN BONES is the second Agent of Hel novel from bestselling author Jacqueline Carey. I was very excited to read AUTUMN BONES because I've always been a huge fan of Norse mythology and Urban Fantasy. I read the entire novel in one day and immediately ordered the first Agent of Hel novel, Dark Currents.

Jacqueline Carey is now officially on my automatic buy list. Oh, where to start on my list of reasons to read this novel. Written in the first person, Daisy drives this story with her quirky worldview, tenacity, and complex love life. She's a dynamic character who struggles with her personal choices because when she crosses a line, she could accidentally trigger Armageddon. It's that internal conflict of trying to make the right decisions to fulfill her duty to Hel, to her family, her friends, and her hometown that had me cheering for her through the entire novel.

Carey's prose is vivid, sharp, and gritty. The town of Pemkowet and its residents feel like they could be a real place and one I'd probably want to vacation in despite knowing the risk. Carey captures both the good and the bad of life inside a small town. From the political maneuvering, to the petty high school grudges that linger into adulthood, to town secrets that can and do come back to haunt them, Pemkowet's residents are intimately connected.

I'd be remiss not to mention the steamy side of AUTUMN BONES. The story starts "with a bang. Or more accurately whole lot of banging." This is part of the first sentence of AUTUMN BONES and it is certainly indicative of what's to come. From the funky, satyr orgy in a gay strip club at the beginning to the three extremely delectable men who all give Daisy that spark of desire, the sexual tension runs from beginning to end. Usually, I'm not a fan of the conflicted love triangle, but it worked for me here because of Daisy's character.

AUTUMN BONES by Jacqueline Carey is the second in a phenomenal Urban Fantasy series that promises to get better as Daisy and her cast of friends negotiate the intricate relationship between the human world and the eldritch world.

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Carey returns to the curious Midwest tourist community where normal and paranormal worlds co-exist—however tenuously—under the watchful eye of a female hellspawn…

Fathered by an incubus, raised by a mortal mother, and liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, Daisy Johanssen pulled the community together after a summer tragedy befell the resort town she calls home. Things are back to normal—as normal as it gets for a town famous for its supernatural tourism, and presided over by the reclusive Norse goddess Hel.

Not only has Daisy now gained respect as Hel’s enforcer, she’s dating Sinclair Palmer, a nice, seemingly normal human guy. Not too shabby for the daughter of a demon. Unfortunately, Sinclair has a secret. And it’s a big one.