Precinct 13

by Tate Hallaway

Published by: Berkley Trade/ Penguin

My Rating: 

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment…

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off.

After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like her. Now, Alex is being encouraged to use her ability to speak to the dead to solve crimes. And despite being in the middle of nowhere, Hughes County sure does have a lot of paranormal activity…

My Review:

With a reluctant heroine, a colorful cast, and supernatural occurrences taking over, Precinct 13 is an paranormal read that urban fantasy readers will not want to miss.

Alex Connor has been convinced that something is wrong with her.  She has always been able to “see things,” but after lots of therapy, medications, and moving to a small South Dakota town, Alex thought she could finally leave her past behind.  She begins her new job as the coroner, and once she experiences her first case where the dead body bespells her and walks away, her life will never again be normal.  Alex is directed to the mysterious Precinct 13, a supernatural police force.  It turns out that there is much more going on in the South Dakota town than meets the eye, and the supernatural does indeed exist.

I really enjoyed this urban fantasy.  I like the heroine a lot, I feel for her and am simultaneously frustrated with her at the same time.  Alex had been accused of being crazy her entire life, to the point of being medicated.  So, when she is confronted with proof that she was not crazy all along, the poor girl has a tough time.  She holds onto some denial, but she manages to make a place for herself in the Precinct and she begins to show more supernatural abilities of her own.  There is a random quality to the magic (especially Alex’s) and the supernatural in this book that provide humor and kept my attention.

The secondary characters are all very interesting too.  There are supernatural beings of all kinds and entities in Precinct 13, and I enjoyed the variety and the uniqueness to each of them.  Valentine, Alex’s quasi-boyfriend, is a very intriguing character.  He is big and bad, but he is not overly dominant of Alex.  Alex proves that, even when she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she can take care of herself.

There is a good balance between humor, action, and plot that made this book stand out as a good urban fantasy read.  While there are still some open ends to the story, I would love to see a series develop out of Precinct 13, to tie up more questions and to get to know the characters more.  I am curious to see how Alex develops and grows as a character.  Plus with a job as a coroner, there is definite potential for all kinds of stories to come.

Urban fantasy and paranormal readers, I highly recommend giving Precinct 13 a try.  This was the first book I have read by Tate Hallaway, but definitely not the last.

Precinct 13 just released last week.  You can find it at: