Review: Lies & Omens by Lyn Benedict

Posted May 23, 2012 by Gikany-Una in 4.5 stars, Rating A, Urban Fantasy Tags: , , ,

Lies & Omens
Author: Lyn Benedict 
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Ace
Shadows Inquiries #4
ISBN: #978-1937007508
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (320 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
Sylvie Lightner is a P.I. specializing in the unusual—in a world where magic is real, and Hell is just around the corner.
After escaping secret government cells and destroying a Miami landmark, Sylvie’s trying to lay low—something that gets easier when a magical force starts taking out her enemies. But these magical attacks are a risk to bystanders, and Sylvie can’t let that slide.   
When the war between the government and the magical world threatens the three people closest to her—her assistant, her sister, and her lover—Sylvie has no choice but to get involved with hidden powers bent on shaping the world to their liking. Now, with death and disaster on the horizon, even if Sylvie wins, things will never be the same…  
What G & U are talking about:
Lies & Omens is the fourth novel in Shadow Inquiries series.  Sylvia is still trying to understand the ramifications of her actions in the previous novel, Gods & Monsters.  She killed Lilith, created a new god out of a fury, and watched the death and resurrection of her boyfriend, Demalion.  You’d think she might catch a break after going through all of this, but no…it seems the fates are conspiring against her.  This does, however, lead to a new beginning – one we are eager to read more about!
The interplay between Sylvia and the other characters continues to keep us interested.  Her snarkiness and brashness help to ground her.  It is very easy to identify with Sylvia despite the supernatural experiences she finds herself in.  Her decision-making process when she is stuck between a rock and a hard place is humanizing.  We especially loved seeing the interplay between her and Erinya, the fury-turned-god.  In Lies & Omens Sylvia sees the total cost of what her choice to make Erinya a god is doing, not just to Sylvia but also to the world.  She must try to fix what Erinya is doing to the world, heal Lupe (an out of control shape-shifter), learn to deal with Demalion and his new body, cure an amnesia epidemic, and end the war that has seems to have been declared on the ISI.
Gikany and Una would highly recommend a reread of the previous novel, Gods & Monsters.  We found the beginning of the novel to be a bit slow and it was entirely due to trying to remember where we left off in the last novel.  However, halfway through Lies & Omens the plot picks up and takes off!  It is completely engrossing partly because it gets horribly complicated, but also because it is entirely fascinating.  All the different plot lines converge into a cataclysmic climax.  It was incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to put down (we may have been reading at stop signs, stop lights…slowing down early to hope to catch the yellow so we could have red light to read at….).  
Lies & Omens is a wild and fun ride.  If you haven’t picked up this series, feel free to pick it up on Gods & Monsters, or better yet, start at the beginning of the Shadow Inquiries series.  It’s certainly worth it!
Their Rating:
Loved it – enthusiastically recommend (A)






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