A Review of Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay

Book Description:

Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dre-ams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood—and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death.

Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement— and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective—collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.

But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a six year- old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run—from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her. . . .

"A sultry start to a promising new series. Dead on the Delta sizzles with action, danger, and romance." -- Jennifer Estep, USA Today bestselling author of the Elemental Assassin series

My Review 4 Fangs:

The premise of this book is something fabulously different. Tiny, killer fairies. One bite and you could die. Of course- strange thing about DNA and biology, some people are immune to fairy bites. Of course it never gets into the why or how some people are immune which is odd considering two of the main characters are or were studying to be doctors. You would think this could have been covered a little better. And if some people are immune you think they would come up with an anti-venom or immunization based on whatever it is that makes certain people immune.

But that's just how my brain works and any and all of this may be addresses in future books-because there's only so much you can fit in a first book, right?

Anyway Annabelle Lee (love the Poe reference here) starts off as more of an anti-heroine: she's a drunk, a loser-ish type of person, a real slacker who really doesn't want top put much effort into anything other than forgetting her past, forgetting about the images that haunt her and the inner pain that she deals with. But the reader will soon start to empathize with AnnaBelle as they learn more about her sad past and realize why she prefers to drown her pain in alcohol and sleeping pills.

I was sucked into this story immediately because it is so different. A new world, no vampires, no weres, just crazy killer fairies that became mutant killers after a chemical plant was blown up by terrorists (this wasn't explained in great detail but I believe that's what caused it, some kind of chemical spill made the fairies mutate).

The fairies have always existed and maybe their bite was always poisonous (not clear here either)- but the mutation made the fairies large enough to be bale to bite humans and the blood lust makes them so crazy they'll attack almost anything and everything that moves- humans, bugs (but not animals- another odd thing that could use some more explaining if they eat bugs why not critters).

The central story involves a murder investigation of a little girl. I figured out a few things about this murder as the story unfolded- but not the part about the girl and Annabelle having something in common- something weird that happens to them after a fairy bite. I can't say more than that without spoilers.

A side story involves Annabelle and her current kinda boyfriend Cane and her ex boyfriend, the love of her life that dumped her, Hitch. Both are lawmen now- Cane on the local police force and Hitch comes in as one of the FBI agents on the murder case. The other FBI agent will add serious complications to the whole relationship thing.

I wonder where this story will go with the men in Annabelle's life because as it stands I'm on no team- too complicated. Cane hasn't grabbed me as someone I can lust after or root for and Hitch, his new world is too complicated and no matter what happens someone is going to get hurt- it brings up a lot of moral and ethical issues and I don't see a happily ever after with Hitch in the future.

Cane just...I don't know. He seems like a great guy but the interaction between him and Annabelle just wasn't there enough in this book to really get a feel for him as a person.

I wonder if any readers will have issues with Cane being black? I know a lot of people have problems with interracial dating and wonder if that will hurt the popularity of these books which tends to make me giggle sarcastically because readers have no problems with inter-species dating- werewolves and humans, vampires and humans, werewolves and vampires, etc but that's all make believe and you know a black guy and a white chick is too real for escapist reading. Yes I'm being sarcastic but I've seen enough racism to wonder if it exists to a point where a reader will put the book down because of it.

I am curious to see where the story will go from here, what the next books will reveal about Annabelle's new condition and "friends". I would love to see more of these books and more world building. I want to dive in and immerse myself in the wicked place where fairies can and will attack. It's definitely a debut to check out.