Review--Up and Coming New Paranormal DRAGON(E) BABY GONE

If you follow me on Goodreads or Bookbub, you know I love a good mystery, no matter the genre or time period. If it has action and snark, all the better. That's why I jumped at the opportunity to read an ARC by this first-time author.

DRAGON(E) BABY GONE by Robert Gainey 

Fans of Mulder and Scully, you’ll be delighted to know there’s a new investigator on the scene. Diane Morris is a Special Agent in the FBI’s branch of Intangible Assets, code for the management and containment of dragons, fire demons, wizards, and other such interplanar ‘tourists.’

Robert Gainey’s debut novel drops the reader into the action on page one, literally into a sewer, as Diane races to reclaim something she’s been told is important from human thieves trying to sell it to fire demons. What ensues is right out of the opening of an Indiana Jones movie, action multiplied. There’s barely time to take a breather in this extremely fast-paced novel, taking place over mere days. That being said, there’s plenty of time for the sharp delineation of several intriguing characters, including Diane’s coworkers, her cats, and her somewhat reluctant allies.

Diane reminds me of Sandra Bullock’s FBI agent in Miss Congeniality, pre-makeover: focused, driven, sarcastic, and unwilling to let her femininity interfere with her mission. But she cares, and since the story is told through her first-person narrative, the reader quickly identifies with her mission to save the world, even if it hasn’t always dealt her a fair hand. After all, she lives alone—with cats—and has to pretend to perform tax audits for the FBI as cover for her real job.

The author’s experience as a firefighter shows in his vivid descriptions of the fire demons and the many instances of fire in this story. He knows his bureaucracy too. But his imagination steps up and shines in the depictions of the interplanar denizens and their powers. Fans of both Harry Dresden and Buffy the Vampire Slayer will enjoy this unique world and the sometimes-prickly partnerships Diane makes in pursuit of her mission.

A five-alarm debut for the first book in what promises to be a wildly entertaining new series. Available now for preorder.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author in the hope I would leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that...my opinions.