Lucia and Jazz have finally succeeded in getting Ben, Jazz’s old partner, out of jail where he has been wrongfully imprisoned and his life threatened for years. It’s a difficult time to celebrate though, as the death threat still looms over Jazz, confining her to the office.But the battle between the two psychic organisations – the Cross Society and the Eidolon Corporation – is heating up and getting ever more deadly, even their office is no safe haven. And, as can be expected from organisations that can see the future, their plotting is convoluted, long term, confusing and very complex; and nearly impossible to protect againstIt also seems that their pasts were more affected by these organisations than they ever imagined – and that their supposed allies are much more ruthless and much more callous than they previously thought, begging the question whether they’re truly on the good guy’s side here. Or if there are any good guys at allThe last book made me turn on my brain and pay attention as the late appearing mystical elements of the story added a whole new level of complexity – the duelling psychics constantly trying to shift tiny events to have a massive effect on major events, the whole concept of different people having massive different influences on the time line. Then there were our two main character’s attempt to negotiate this and do what’s best with forces determined to play “end justifies the means” long term planning that may sacrifice many people in the name of the greater good.This book not only continues that but plunges us in ever deeper with a much stronger challenge of the ethics of the whole seeing the future. Lucia and Jazz are increasingly trying to distance themselves from or at least question the actions of the Cross Society and Eidolon both as they’re struggling over the idea of who to trust. There’s a lot of moral quandary here, a lot of struggling to figure out exactly what would be the best thing to do all more complicated by the two men in their lives – Ben and James – having very strong and very rigid opinions of the Cross society as well. I like how the disagreement is handled in a mature fashion, there’s no big dramatic ultimatums, no screaming matches, just a mutual wish to work it out coupled with a firm insistence that none of them cross their red lines they’ve set up.So, in many ways this continues the fascination of the first book - it has a fascinating world, an excellent concept and a well paced story with lots of really well done action, sensible behaviour and interesting mystery as Lucia tries to navigate her way round the complications of the Cross society’s planning, Eidolon’s plotting and several mine fields from her past.And I do love the characters – because they all behave like reasonable adults. They take risks, but they’re reasonable ones. They are intelligent and capable without being super powered, they have excellent inter-personal interactions, they have some great banter, they have worries and fears and can be a bit lost, but they generally hold up well throughout the story. I like them and think they work extremely well together. I also really like that Lucia, the protagonist, is not only Latina but she’s Latina with a sense of culture and language, rather than it being a passing label to be ignored. I will say, though, that at times we have vast swathes of the book go by without a hint and then a sudden remembrance of her Spanish which is a tad inconsistent, but only a tad.Read More
Second in the Red Letter Days suspense series involving psychics manipulating the future and using the private investigating firm of Callender and Garza to affect the changes in Kansas City. My Take This is just plain scary. Two rival corporations playing power games using leads "seen" by their pet psychics. The original plan was to tweak what the psychics saw to ensure a favorable outcome. Instead, what their original psychic came to realize was that tweaking simply made things worse. Personally, I'm with Lucia and Jazz---it's just plain wrong to destroy peoples' lives to suit your whims.In Devil's Due, there is a constant yo-yoing of distrust between Borden and Jazz; Jazz, Garza, and McCarthy; and, especially with Ivanovich and Simms. It's almost too much to try and figure out at any given moment who is on whose side. Then there's the end that really throws everything off. The Story Ben's getting out of jail and Lucia is making him over---Ben calls it "prison with product". Unfortunately, none of them get to enjoy it very long when a red envelope dusted with anthrax shows up in the office and Pansy and Lucia must undergo a series of treatments against it. Worse, Lucia gets kidnapped and doesn't remember any of the days she's missing. The action simply speeds up with an abused spouse needing protection who isn't all she seems, the Eidolon Corporation as well as the Cross Society is contacting the ladies, Manny is freaking out with Pansy's contamination, James is conflicted between Jazz and GPL, the exposure of an underground lab adds to the confusion, and then Simms shows up. With a plan to take 'em all out. The Characters Callender and Garza is a private investigating agency composed of Lucia Garza and Jasmine "Jazz" Callender. They poached Pansy from James Borden, a lawyer with Gabriel, Pike, and Laskins law firm in New York City---she's seeing Manny these days. Surprisingly---not---GPL is considering opening a branch office in Kansas City since James is spending so much time there. He and Jazz are a couple. Manny Glickman is a former FBI agent who is now an independent specializing in forensic analysis and a huge ration of paranoia. Ben McCarthy was Jazz's partner until he was framed for several murders and imprisoned. Jazz received the necessary proof to get him out. Now the boy is falling in love with Lucia and temporarily employed by C&G.Omar is a former lover and now a good friend to Lucia. She knows she can always count on him. Agent Rawlins is with the FBI's Kansas City office and willing, to a certain extent, to help Lucia. Special Agent Cole is another FBI friend who doesn't know Lucia very well.Susannah Davis is desperate to avoid the abuse heaped on her by her husband Leonard. Or is he the abuser? Max Simms is the initial psychic who founded both the Eidolon Corporation until they framed him for multiple murders. He also founded the Cross Society to counter Eidolon. In this story, he breaks out of jail and engineers death. Gregory Ivanovich is both and either. An enemy and a friend. Now he seems to be working for GPL.Detective Ken Stewart is a very single-minded cop whose main interest in life is harassing Jazz. The Cover The cover is shades of dark purple to red with one of those big red envelopes in the lower right corner lying on the cobbled pavement as Lucia walks away, lightning touching down all around her.Oh yeah, there are those who do get the Devil's Due.
What do You think about Devil's Due (2006)?
Title: Devil's DueSeries: Red Letter SeriesAuthor: Rachael CaineGenre: Romance, Sci-Fi and FantasyBlurb: The psychic world will never be the same again...Lucia Garza is trapped in a supernatural power struggle. To save a friend she agreed to work for sinister psychic organization The Cross Society. But after a death threat that almost succeeds, she's starting to think they want her out of the way. Forever.Worse, as Lucia uncovers the society's most dangerous secrets, she discovers that she's being used as a pawn between two warring paranormal factions. Caught in a battle no-one can win, Lucia's only choice could be to go against long told prophecy to destroy both the Cross Society and its sworn enemies. But what are the consequences of defying destiny?Thoughts: Prior to reading this book, I was not that familiar with Rachael Caine. I had not read the previous book in the series, Devil's Bargain, which starts off the story from her partner Jazz's point of view. I found that this hindered my reading of the story only slightly. The story itself was easy to get engaged in, and definatly kept your attention, but alot of the time I did find myself wondering about events that had happened and some of the back history on both Jazz and the Cross Society. So, I will certainly go back and read the first book in this exciting series.In Devil's Due, we start out with the exoneration of Ben McCarthy. He is expecting his ex-partner, Jazz, to be there for him, since they have always been close. Unfortunately, after Jazz's experiences in the first book, Lucia and another friend are still worried that Jazz may be a target, so Lucia appears in her place. She also proceeds to offer him a job with their private detective agency, since he was a prior cop before he was framed for murder.It turns out that the same group who was responsible for sending McCarthy to prison has funded their new detective agency - the Cross Society. They are a rich, secretive society run by psychics who are pretty much playing chess with the world - manipulating people and events in order to obtain certain results. McCarthy, Lucia, Jazz, and everyone they know is caught up in the game - which sometimes has deadly results.I thought Lucia was a strong female character. She was tough, smart, capable of taking care of herself, yet she still had an air of vulnerability to her that made her very compelling. However, I would have loved more details regarding Lucia's past. While things are explained enough to satisfy the storyline, I found myself eager to read more about her and what had happened to her in the past. McCarthy was very stoic, yet likeable, and he fights his attraction to Lucia from the beginning. He's a complex character that is hard to understand sometimes, yet you come to realize and comprehend more about his actions the closer you get to the end of the book.Basically, this book has everything you need: a great storyline, fascinating characters, intrigue, a touch of romance, and enough twists and turns to keep you eager for more!Rate: B-Review by: Sarahhttp://www.thebookreadinggals.com
—Book Reading Gals
Devil's Due is the second half of a duology of romance novels, Rachel Caine's contribution to the now-defunct Bombshell line. In this installment, we follow up with the team of Jazz and Lucia, who have been manipulated into starting their own detective agency with the understanding that at any time they may receive mysterious red envelopes--and that when they do, they must give the instructions in those envelopes priority over any other case they may have going. In Book 1, Devil's Bargain, we got the beginning of the story of who's behind this arrangement, and what nefarious motives they have going on.In Book 2, as the focus shifts from Jazz as the POV heroine to Lucia, we get the rest of the ongoing conflict between the Cross Society and Eidolon. Lucia finds herself increasingly attracted to Jazz's former partner Ben McCarthy, now that he's sprung from prison and proven innocent of the murder charges that had put him there. They soon discover, though, that Ben too is a pawn in this entire complex and shady affair--and that the people who have put them all into their current arrangement won't scruple to let terrorists unleash anthrax in the city, or kidnap Lucia herself if necessary to influence Ben to stand down.Lucia is a different sort of heroine than Jazz: cooler, more collected, yet with intriguing dark hints about her past work in intelligence and connections with one shady side character in the cast. Her chemistry with Ben is strong and believable, too. My only overall beef with this installment--and by extension the entire story--is that at least on this read-through, the overall motives of the Cross Society didn't quite click for me.Still, though, this was an enjoyable and light read and I'll probably come back to it again at some point. Three stars.
—Angela
I liked the first book a little better I think. Reading from Lucia's pov was really interesting for a while but then I started missing jazz's firy disposition. Lucia is a good character and I can't complain about a lack of twists and action. For some reason I can't pinpoint I also liked Borden more than McCarthy. Maybe it was the whole dynamic of the relationship with jazz that I liked but still... :) Overall it was a good read. I cant wait to be introduced to the next amazing world Rachel Caine conjures! :)
—Joan{missing the vampire bunny slippers!}
