Mortal Ties by Eileen Wilks

Politics, Intrigue, and Murder… Oh My!

Title:  Mortal Ties
Author:  Eileen Wilks
Series: World of the Lupi Book 9
Publish Date:  December 1, 2014 by GraphicAudio.net
Genre:  Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: FBI agent Lily Yu is living at Nokolai Clanhome with her fiancé, lupi Rule Turner, when an intruder penetrates their territory, stealing the prototype of a magical device the clan hopes will be worth a fortune–if a few bugs can be worked out…

But the prototype can be dangerously erratic, discharging a bizarre form of mind magic—and it looks like the thief wants it for that very side effect. Worse, whoever stole the device didn’t learn about it by accident. There’s a Nokolai traitor in their midst.

Lily and Rule have to find the traitor, the thief, and the prototype. One job proves easy when the thief calls them–and his identity rocks Rule’s world.

As they race to recover their missing property, they find Robert Friar’s sticky footprints all over the place. Robert Friar–killer, madman, and acolyte of the Old One the lupi are at war with–an Old One whose power is almost as vast as her ambition to rock the entire world…

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

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Invested Ivana says…

What I Liked:  I’ve totally adjusted to the new voice of Rule Turner.  Actually, that only took about 30 minutes of listening. 🙂  I also really like three of the new characters: Ghost-Al Drummond, Jasper Machek, and Alycithin.  I know from the preview of Ritual Magic that Al will be back; I hope we see more of Jasper and Alycithin, too.

Grandmother puts in an appearance!  I love it when Grandmother is involved. I love how she bosses everyone around, too.

I also liked that the Fey have sixteen words for “enemy” and seven words for “friend.”  I’d love to hear more about those definitions.

What I Didn’t Like:  I’m noticing more and more that the GraphicAudio books are abridged–not because they are done poorly by any means; I think GA has adapted the books for production very well–but because I notice storylines that aren’t quite finished or a lack of details that I imagine would be in the book.

For example, in Mortal Ties, the story never comes back to Lily’s sister, Beth, whose call starts off the story.  The fey describe friendships “of the third degree” and “of the fifth degree,” but the meanings are never explained in the audio.  The ending scene with Al Drummond makes me think there is more about him in the books, too.  So, as much as I love listening to the GA versions, I have a feeling I’m going to have to switch to the books soon, or finish the series in GA and then reread the books.

Plus the books have a glossary of characters and terms.  With as wonderfully complex as Wilks’ world is getting, a glossary might be necessary!

Reviews in this series…

• Book 0.1 The New Kid
• Book 01 Tempting Danger
• Book 1.5 Originally Human
• Book 02 Mortal Danger
• Book 03 Blood Lines
• Book 04 Night Season
• Book 05 Mortal Sins
• Book 6 Blood Magic
• Book 7 Blood Challenge
• Book 8 Death Magic

Other reviews…

• All Things Urban Fantasy
• A Book Obsession
• Fiction Vixen

If you like this book…

… you might try some other titles from Graphic Audio.  GA has hundreds of titles in Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Adventure, Comics, and Westerns!