Fissured (The Pipe Woman Chronicles) / Lynne Cantwell

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Contemporary/ World Mythology

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Availability   

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Author:

Lynne Cantwell has a master's degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University; she is a former broadcast journalist who is working a day job as a legal secretary. Ms. Cantwell is also a contributing author at IndiesUnlimited where she shares her knowledge about Indie publishing and promotion. Her Pipe Woman Chronicles include four volumes to date Seized, Fissured, Tapped, and Gravid. She is now working on the fifth book in this series Annealed. You can connect with her at her blog or on Facebook.

Description:

“It’s not bad enough that Naomi Witherspoon is second-guessing her relationship with her new boyfriend, Ute shapeshifter Joseph Curtis. Now she’s been attacked by a jaguar in downtown Denver. And somebody has built a hydraulic fracturing operation down the road from their friend Charlie’s ranch. An independent filmmaker named Jack Rivers has conveniently appeared, and is documenting Charlie’s problems with the fracking operation. Naomi thinks Jack might be the Investigator – the fourth member of the team a Lakota Indian goddess set up to help Naomi broker peace between Jehovah and the pagan pantheons – but Jack seems more interested in causing trouble among Naomi, Joseph, and her best friend Shannon, than in helping out their team.”

Appraisal:

I am going to have to rave here. I love this series. Ms. Cantwell wastes no time drawing readers into Naomi’s insecurities. She is intelligent, levelheaded, and independent, but she has overwhelming odds against her in all aspects of her life that are bleeding into one another. It’s completely understandable and I was totally immersed in all of Naomi’s dilemmas. Ms. Cantwell does an excellent job with first person POV and her descriptive prose had me right there beside Naomi, experiencing what she saw and felt. I also learned a bit about hydraulic fracturing, scary stuff by the way.

The plot moves at a realistic pace and kept me reading all through the night. Jack Rivers was an interesting villain that brought Aztec gods into the mix of Ute, Lakota, Greek, Nordic, and Christian mythos. He was the perfect antagonist to hate. We will have to keep a close eye on him. I like the way Ms. Cantwell challenges all different belief systems, and of course, the goddess directing Naomi never answers a direct question. So, the plot seems more character driven because they must use their free will to puzzle out their own answers.

I love the relationship between Naomi and her best friend Shannon. She is the perfect sounding board and everyone needs a friend like her. The emotional tension in this book is high all the way to the end. The romantic element between Joseph and Naomi is a unique journey that has swept me away; I am mesmerized by their relationship. It seems that Joseph is dealing with some insecurity, also. Although there is not a cliffhanger ending per se, I would have to say there is an emotional issue that is soothed, but not resolved. I am hooked and ready for the next book.

FYI:

This book contains adult language and situations that may be offensive to some.

Format/Typo Issues:

Excellent editing. I found no issues with editing or formatting.

Rating: ***** Five stars