Frost Moon by Anthony Francis (Skindancer #1)
March 1, 2010
Urban Fantasy
Paperback, 284 Pages
Bell Bridge Books
Reviewed by Mandi

Why I read: It was offered for review.

Favorite Quote: “We’re all one big happy vampire family, respecting each other’s beliefs, and even managing to pretend Doug’s whing-whang isn’t hanging out.”

Dakota Frost stands out amongst a crowd in her hometown of Atlanta. She is not only six feet two with an uber-cool “deathhawk” but she is also covered in tattoos – magical tattoos. She is the best magical tattoo artist in the Southeast, working at the Rogue Unicorn in Little Five points, part of the Edgeworld, that embraces magic and otherworldly creatures. She has inked every tattoo on herself, except for those on her inking hand. Her abilities allow her to make the tattoos come to life, being able to use them however the wearer of the tattoo intends.

However, because she stands out, she is also a potential target. There is a serial killer on the loose, one who is skinning off these magical tattoos and then killing the victims on nights with a full moon. The feds have a horrifying piece of evidence which they show Dakota to both warn her that she could be in danger, and to gather any information she has about this art. The piece they show her is a lid from a box with someone’s skin stretched across it, showing off a certain magical tattoo. With twelve killings over a number of years, and each one getting closer to Atlanta, the feds warn Dakota to be on alert.

Meanwhile, Dakota is asked to ink “Wulf” a shifter who is desperate to get a tattoo to have better control over his shifting in a few days when the full moon occurs. Dakota takes her work very seriously, and refuses to put a magical tattoo on someone until she is sure it is safe and not going to do Wulf or herself harm. As she starts to gather information about this tattoo, and the closer it becomes to the full moon, danger escalates, and no one is safe.

Frost Moon introduces us to Dakota Frost, and I have to say I like her – a lot. She is confident, but not cocky. Sarcastic, but not a bitch. She has an ex-girlfriend, yet charmingly flirts with every cute guy she sees. She takes her job very seriously, but has a wonderful sense of humor. She is not invincible, and she knows this. She gets beaten, she gets broken – she doesn’t give up, but she doesn’t have that invincible attitude and that makes her a very realistic heroine in my opinion. She is kind of a loner, but makes friends easily. During the investigation she works with “secret agent man” Philip Davidson. He works for the Department of Extraordinary Investigations and flies around in secret black helicopters. His appearance reminds Dakota of an “evil Johnny Depp.” They come to respect each other, and have a very subtle romance – just a hint throughout the book. They are quite the pair – Dakota with her wild appearance, and Philip in his very strict black suit, but the relationship and sexual tension works really well.

Throughout the book we meet many interesting characters, all advancing the plot to finally discover who the serial killer is (which totally stunned me at the end). The world Anthony Francis writes is filled with humans, vampires, shifters, and people with magical abilities and he does an amazing job laying the foundation. The book keeps a steady pace and intermingled with the world building and action are some very witty lines. There is also great attention to detail and subtle lines here and there that really sparked my interest in this book and makes for a great read.

Frost Moon is a wonderful book, and Anthony Francis is a great addition to the Urban Fantasy genre.

Rating: 4.5/5

Recent Reviews:
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Anthony Francis’ Website.