Audio Review: Shattered Souls by Delilah Devlin

Shattered Souls

Caitlyn O'Connell
Delilah Devlin

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Narrator: Natalie Ross
Date of Publication: January 29, 2013
Abridged or Unabridged: Unabridged
Length of Production: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN    Audible    Audiobook Stand   Audiobooks

Her mother called it a gift. But for Caitlyn O’Connell, the voices in her head are a curse, dooming her career, her marriage, and her sobriety. Now the former cop scrapes by as a private investigator, counting down the minutes until happy hour. But when her sexy former partner (and estranged ex-husband) appeals to her for help with a bizarre murder case, Cait can’t say no — to the crime or the man.

The last thing Detective Sam Pierce wants is to revisit the past. But the very secret that doomed his marriage to Cait may be the key to cracking this case. Something sinister — and decidedly not human — is terrorizing Memphis, leaving a trail of clues only Cait can decipher. Together she and Sam will venture into a dark world of magic and terror, lured to the brink of reality as they know it — and back into the thrall of their steamy past.

This is a series that has been on my TBR pile for quite awhile. But with one thing and another, it slipped further and further down on the listing and was mostly forgotten.  Then I ran across the audiobook version and thought, yes, this would be a perfect audiobook.  One, I love Natalie Ross' voice and style and two, I have been on a paranormal kick, so it should slide in nicely.

Caitlyn 'Cate' O'Connell was introduced to us as her ex-partner, ex-husband is dragging her hung-over self out of bed.  He literally throws her over his shoulder and dumps her into a cold shower. Sam Pierce is a Detective with the Memphis Police Force and needs her at an active crime scene. As the story unfolds, we find that Cate is very much a flawed character. As the daughter of a Gypsy witch and an Irish Cop, she had trained in her witch heritage up until her mother died from an accidental poisoning while testing a spell when she was only 17. At this point she turned her back on that side of her heritage and followed in her father's footsteps to became a cop.  However, the spirits and voices continued to haunt Cate and eventually she began drinking to block them out. The tipping point was when she followed the voice of a fellow officer and found his dead body, unable to give a plausible reason for how she found him, she was forced to retire or be fired.

Sam has tracked Cate down because the man who was killed was her first partner and mentor.  His hotel room was found trashed, covered in blood, but with the body missing. There is a message from Cate on his room's voicemail stating that she would meet with him that night.  Sam's first instinct was to make sure that Cate was alive. Then try to bring her to the scene to see if she could explain what had happened. When Cate was on the force, she had become the go to girl for the "Full Moon" cases - those cases that never seemed to have a logical explanation. Sam demands to have full disclosure and work with her to find out what happened to the former officer.  When Cate agrees and starts opening Sam's eyes to a hidden world he never knew about, he finds out that Cate has had to keep a lot hidden from him.  Sam realizes that he never really knew Cate at all.  They will have to learn to trust each other all over again.

I loved that Cait was this incredibly flawed character. Way too often, the female character in a series is so perfect that they practically fart rainbows. Everyone loves them, the baddies run simply from the sound of their name, and their 'special' gift ensures that they will win every time. This was like the polar opposite of Cait. Nobody on the police force wants to work with her, she has pushed away or alienated just about everyone in her life, and she spends all her time drinking to blot out the voices that she hears. The great thing about this though, is watching the character rise and fight their way back. The room for growth in the character is astounding, and Ms Devlin doesn't disappoint. As I knew going in this is the first book in an Urban Fantasy series, I wasn't expecting a HEA. However, there was a successful conclusion to the circumstances and no cliff hanger. I gave this book 3 stars.