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A review by kaje_harper
Divergence by Lyn Gala
4.0
This book gives us Kavon and Darren as a committed couple. They are learning how to work together, despite clashes of style, and their guides are also pretty much of a team now. The guys are under a lot of stress (of which Darren carries more than his share), and they have to push back against resistance from both the mundane and the magical sides, as they pursue their unfinished cases - both O'Brien, and the trafficking case. The team as a whole makes some strides toward remembering how to function together, since the betrayal by Traci shook them all. And the new guy - Boyd - was a great addition.
There is a fair bit of world-building that helps explain some of the magical questions from the first two books, although I still felt a bit shaky on some details as the story ended. The character of Salma al-Ghamdi added an interesting flavor and an authority on some aspects of the magical past. She was self-effacing enough that I didn't get a good feel for the person underneath her role as facilitator, but that fit with the way she was trained and commanded by her Egyptian leaders.
The end to the O'Brien case was more straightforward and faster than I expected, and a bit less dramatic (although props for realism maybe -. The second case, and the local cops were actually more engaging to me when we got to that scene. The second action climax was more immediate and effective than the first. And a couple of great new characters appear.
I felt like there was a fair bit left hanging at the end of this book, (especially in terms of the power struggles, and the possibly looming evil - issues that have underlain the stories. There remains the whole reason for Bennu's interest in Kavon and willingness to take part, yet to appear on the page), so I'm going to assume that this is not the end of the series. This book was less tightly written than the previous two, but still a fun read. I plan to pick up the next one.
There is a fair bit of world-building that helps explain some of the magical questions from the first two books, although I still felt a bit shaky on some details as the story ended. The character of Salma al-Ghamdi added an interesting flavor and an authority on some aspects of the magical past. She was self-effacing enough that I didn't get a good feel for the person underneath her role as facilitator, but that fit with the way she was trained and commanded by her Egyptian leaders.
The end to the O'Brien case was more straightforward and faster than I expected, and a bit less dramatic (although props for realism maybe -
Spoiler
we don't always get to blow the bad guy to smithereens, however satisfying it would be)I felt like there was a fair bit left hanging at the end of this book, (especially in terms of the power struggles, and the possibly looming evil - issues that have underlain the stories. There remains the whole reason for Bennu's interest in Kavon and willingness to take part, yet to appear on the page), so I'm going to assume that this is not the end of the series. This book was less tightly written than the previous two, but still a fun read. I plan to pick up the next one.