Thursday, October 23, 2014

Emissary -- Chris Rogers

Chris Rogers is best known for her series featuring Houston bounty hunter Dixie Flanagan.  This time out, she's going for something completely different.  Emissary is a cross-genre thriller.

Ruel is an emissary from the Szhen, a planet on the brink of destruction.  Ruel and his kind have a lot to offer to humans, but getting this across is tricky.  Ruel is more or less pure energy, and he can reside in human hosts without their knowledge.  His first host is the president of the U.S., Addison Hale.  She's involved in a tricky situation in Africa, and things get even worse.  Ruel changes hosts, but the results are far from what he'd hoped.  He saves the situation, but gains nothing for himself.

Meanwhile in Houston, Kirk Longshadow, a cop, shoots and kills a woman, saving the life of man. Longshadow has lost everyone he cares about (wife, child, brother), and the shooting further damages him.  He's on a downward alcoholic spiral.  I won't spoil things by telling you how these two stories come together, but Longshadow becomes Ruel's host, and they go off to Mexico to find the solution to a serious crime.  When Ruel makes himself known to Longshadow, Longshadow believes Ruel is just some crazy voice in his head.  It takes some serious action (including torture) for the cop to figure out that Ruel is real and that his help is needed.

Rogers writes with confidence and authority about everything from African politics to Houston police procedure to Mexican drug gangs.  There's plenty of action, and the book is populated with interesting characters from political figures to tattoo artists.  At the end, there are enough loose ends to ensure that Longshadow and Ruel will return, something that readers will be looking forward to.  Check this one out when you're looking for a real slam-bang change of pace. 

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