A review by jjwilbourne
Same Old Shift by Brock Bloodworth, H. Claire Taylor

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Same Old Shift, by Brock Bloodworth and H. Claire Taylor is book 2 in the Killhaven Police series. I was pretty satisfied with the previous entry, and I wanted to see how far down the shifter hole this went.

After the traumatic events of Shift Work, Norman Green has gained a margin of respect from his colleges. But there’s clearly more going on in Killhaven than anyone in the department is willing to admit to the public, and Green’s former FTO, Heather Valance, has a nose for corruption and is willing to dig deeper to root it out. Will Green walk the straight and narrow and remain in the good graces of the department, or will he follow Valance into the dark and risk his career and his life?

If you’re wondering if the dark and irreverent humor established by the first entry in the series has remained, it has. The story had several laugh-out-loud moments that had me turning to my wife and saying: “I don’t know… you’ve just got to read this. It’s hilarious.”

Now that we’re well acquainted with the characters in the Fang 900s, Same Old Shift finally begins to uncover the larger story at work in the series. And while this story is definitely leading to a large event, I felt like this book suffered a little from being what I sometimes call a “bridge novel.” A bridge novel is often a necessary evil in a series, but the author’s strong grip on character, humor, and pacing saves the story from feeling anti-climatic.

If you enjoyed Shift Work, don’t stop there. There’s more for you in this paranormal, darkly comedic, police procedural. And it certainly feels like the best is yet to come!