I have not read Mr. Mrazek's first book, Valhalla. Yet this book can be read as a stand alone novel. Having not read the first book I have not established a relationship with Lexy Vaughan and Steve Macaulay yet. However I thought that they worked well together. They have a good working relationship. This is nice because sometimes when I jump right into a series without having established a relationship, either I don't connect very well with the characters or it takes me a while to feel that connection. I had neither problem with this book.

What I did have a bit of an issue with is all of the ground work "dialect". It just seemed to go on and on and on. To quote one of the other characters in this book "This is all very interesting, but is there any way you could expedite your presentation". "I admire your diligence to detail, but there are other pressing matters on my agenda for today".

Yet, with all of the talking, I did like this book. The story was intriguing and it still read as a fast read. I do have a copy of Valhalla and I will read it. ( )