Scarlet(Mass Market Paperback)
by Jordan Summers
Release Date: June 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0765359155
Thrust into a world full of creatures she never dreamed existed, Gina 'Red Santiago is coming to grips with the fact that shes a werewolf while adjusting to her new life in the small town of Nuria.
The transition isn't easy, especially since her boyfriend, alpha werewolf Morgan Hunter, is called away on an important mission. Unfortunately, someone doesn't want Red to get too comfortable with her new life - someone who will resort to anything, including murder, to run her out of town. Alone among hostile strangers, Red must fight to prove her innocence, to catch a ruthless murderer, and to preserve her relationship with an increasingly distant Morgan.
“SCARLET” Book Two in Jordan Summers’ Dead World Trilogy picks up a few weeks after “RED” with Gina “Red” Santiago attempting to shift into her wolf form out in the desert and failing miserably. She is frustrated and worried that if she doesn’t have a controlled shift soon it could mean the end of her and Alpha Werewolf/boyfriend, Morgan’s relationship and possibly the end of her life by Morgan’s hand (who tells her “Failure isn’t an option”). An uncontrolled Werewolf is too dangerous to have around. Red knows this and the town of Nuria knows this and is watching her closely.
When Morgan sees an announcement that a cloning company has developed an inoculation that repairs damaged and abnormal cells Red has hope that there is a cure for their Werewolf-ism. Morgan is not so sure. The company also announces that they have perfected cloning and are selling clones as a wife, prostitute, child or slave labour, with the models are Morgan’s dead wife and child.
This is where the plot splits into two subplots – Morgan going off on his own to destroy the cloning lab and cells of his dead family; Red left to her own defences and an open target for her nemesis Roark, a whacked, politician who wants to destroy her by manipulating the town to turn against her.
As soon as Morgan is gone, the bodies start piling up in Nuria and all fingers point to Red. With the town turned against her and her lover gone on an impossible quest, Red finds herself turning to Raphael, a vampire that temps her as often as he helps her.
Although this book was not as superior as “RED”, it still was a great read. I’ve seen some bad reviews but I have to disagree with them. I enjoyed the story and I still love these characters and the world they inhabit. Gina “Red” Santiago showed more of her vulnerability in this book. She was more self-conscious and fearful than she had been in RED but she also was more under the microscope in this book and treated like a bug to be squashed by the town. It was interesting how fast they all turned on her, esp. Maggie (what a bitch!), as soon as Morgan was gone. They scrutinized her every move and were easily manipulated into believing that Red was a killer, not a victim.
While Red is dealing with the town folk, the mystery of what is really happening around her, her inability to shift and the fact she is desperately missing Morgan, she also is putting together a Tactical Team to defend the town against Roark. It is no wonder with all this on her plate that she sometimes comes across as weak in the story.
Because this is a Trilogy, I consider “SCARLET” to be a bridge between “RED” and the final book “CRIMSON”, where Red and Morgan are on their own in the wasteland.
My recommendation: If you loved “RED” then keep reading, you’ll like "SCARLET”. I think it is a needed story to get you through to “CRIMSON” (which is sure to be an exciting climax to the Trilolgy). “SCARLET” gets a thumbs up from me.
Mirrored at Deven's Book Journal
SCARLET is the second book in the Dead World Trilogy.
Book Three, CRIMSON is scheduled for release on November 1, 2009.
