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Jo Denning is the author of the Saoirse Reilly series. She has spent her career as a behavioral health therapist supporting kids and teens who struggle with addiction. Jo began writing supernatural crime thrillers as a way of processing the traumatic things she has seen and heard. Her characters may be supernatural but their stories, their fear, and their pain are real. So, too, are their triumphs over impossible odds.
When she's not writing, Jo enjoys baking, drawing, and watching trashy reality TV. She makes her home somewhere in the contiguous United States with her husband, one fluffy cat, and one barely domesticated cat.
Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite
Dead Blood City is the first novel in the Saoirse Reilly series by Jo Denning. An urban fantasy of the finest quality, the novel follows Detective Saoirse Reilly's struggles with her past as she faces her present. The guilt of killing a man while on duty was eating at her from the inside and Saoirse was ready to end her life to ease the anguish. However, Saoirse put her feelings aside when she got a new case. A child named Delaney Bascom was missing. The girl was kidnapped, and the circumstances were strange, to say the very least. Something supernatural was happening in Boston, and Saoirse had to get deep into it if she wanted to bring Delaney back home. Would Saoirse be able to solve the case before it was too late? Or would she succumb to her grief and take her life before anything else?
I loved Saoirse. She was the perfect example of a tortured yet very capable protagonist who could body slam someone while grieving. However, she was mature about her grief; she went to a therapist, even if she was reluctant about it. Author Jo Denning gave Saoirse a reason to live, something to hold on to before she finally gave up on living. The narrative was powerful to complement Saoirse and her mannerisms. The tension was almost alive, so thick that I could almost feel it. The author introduced supernatural elements slowly and timeously. Nothing was out of place or confusing. In fact, everything felt strategic and well-thought-out. However, this is a story for adults, especially those who aren’t fazed by gore, murder, cursing, and torture. If you are one of those readers, you would love Dead Blood City. Fascinating and entertaining!
