Miss-Match by Erica Lawson and A.C. Henley

Publisher:                   Affinity Press

Miss-Match reads like an experiment that did not work.  It has to be difficult enough to write a book with two authors, but especially unwieldy when one of them is dead and cannot be consulted.  The pace of this book is extremely uneven and, while it’s supposed to be funny, it often feels forced to achieve that.  The company didn’t do this book any favors either.  It’s poorly set up as far as the pages, spacing and so forth, then the editing notes were left in it in places.

Clancy Fitzgerald is twenty-nine, single and the matchmaker she’s been using has run through all of the men she has available.  The matchmaker decides to set Clancy up with a woman, without telling her.  She also doesn’t tell the other woman, Carmen Pratka, that Clancy isn’t expecting a woman.  Carmen immediately realizes that Clancy’s problem has been all along that she’s really a lesbian.  Someone just has to prove it to her and Carmen wants to do that.  What follows is a silly dance between Clancy and Carmen to create a relationship and that gets caught up in the intrigue of a religious group to try and buy up all of the gay and lesbian bars in town to put them out of business.

Erica Lawson is usually a much better author than this and her books are better produced.  Perhaps it was trying to finish someone else’s story that created the problem.  At any rate, leave this one on the shelf and try a different book.

Soulwalker by Erica Lawson

Publisher:           Blue Feather Books

Erica Lawson paints a rather frightening picture in Soulwalker  of a hundred years from now.  An authoritarian government is trying to increase its power and is using a group called the Black Shadow Corps to accomplish that.  Albinos have evolved to the point where they can separate their souls or "shadows" from their bodies and send them on covert missions ordered by the government.  It makes them very efficient and totally undetectable killers.  Tarris Waite leads this band but she isn't a pure albino, so the others are suspicious of her.  Tarris doesn't understand why her differences matter so much to the government and she has questions that are beginning to bother her, from the accident that left her a paraplegic to the nature of the missions her people are being asked to complete.  She would like to "walk" away from this life, quite literally, and that brings her into contact with Asher Hyrea, a medical researcher who is working on regenerating nerves.  What seems like a harmless attempt by Tarris to regain her ability to walk results in the two of them running from the government, hiding in an underground world, and becoming involved in events that could either save or destroy their whole society.

In some ways Soulwalker is as much a mystery as it is science fiction, one that has hints, but not enough answers as to how this world developed.  The reader can probably imagine how a totalitarian regime would take over, but what caused the unusual abilities of the albinos?  More information about that would have been interesting.  The major weakness in the story though is in the relationship between Tarris and Asher.  Lawson goes to some effort to paint a picture of how distrustful both characters are of other people, almost to the point of paranoia, but they suddenly trust each other, against all reason, in a matter of hours.  It could be argued that the situation forced them into that trust, but having it take place over a longer period would probably have made it more realistic.

In all though, Lawson has crafted an enjoyable story.  The concept is unusual, the pacing is brisk and there are twists to the plot elements.  There is a classic story of "the other," but in this case the outsider is the one to be feared and not the one who is persecuted.  Tarris is an interesting character as a classic anti-hero who becomes a reluctant crusader. The Black Shadow Corps is chilling in what it represents, but it hints at the type of organizations that a government will develop to do its dirty work.  One of the most disturbing aspects of the book is how real the situations feel, yet that speaks to Lawson's ability. 

As with most futuristic stories, there is a moral in Soulwalker.  It doesn't overwhelm the book, but it is a cautionary tale.  It's one that is easy to read and might beg a sequel to see what happens to the type of power that Tarris represents.  It's certainly worth giving this book a chance to capture your attention.

The Chronicles of Ratha by Erica Lawson

Publisher:                  Blue Feather Publishing

Jordana Laren lives on the edge.  As a freighter pilot, she'll take just about any job, no matter what side of the law it's on.  When she's not working, she can be found in a bar drinking, fighting and chasing women.  Her latest questionable job ends when her ship is stolen and she's marooned on a harsh penal colony with no food, water or weapons.  Things only get worse when she learns that an enemy from her past is on the planet and intends to kill her.  Rescue appears in the form of the Noorthi, a group of women who are religious mystics with legendary secret powers and, unfortunately for Jordana, a tendency to be pacifists.  All Jordana wants to do is get off of this planet alive, but the Noorthi proclaim her their Ratha, their prophesized protector, and she finds herself trying to devise a plan to save all of them.  Eventually she finds herself drawn into a world of crime and political corruption that she wants nothing to do with, but she never could resist a damsel in distress and she has a ship full of them.  Jordana is a reluctant hero, but she'll play the part to help the Noorthi, possibly to her death.

Fans of Lawson's first book Possessing Morgan will be surprised if they're expecting to read another mystery.  Instead she has created a speculative fiction story that unfolds like an epic and it seems to have shades of influence from the Star Wars movies.  Jordana is very reminiscent of Han Solo, a rogue with a heart of gold who can't resist a cry for help, and she has her own Princess Lea in Beri, the hereditary leader of the Noorthi.  The story isn't derivative, but many scenes will feel familiar.  Jordana seems particularly inept at what she's doing, but she's surrounded by a supporting cast of friends that gets her out of trouble.  The story also has undertones of an old Western with cowboys and bad guys, only it's set in space.  The pace is good though and many of the characters are appealing.  Although sexual activities are referred to, except for some general descriptions, they are very few; however, there are some surprises in that area.

The Chronicles of Ratha: Children of the Noori is intended to be the first in a series.  It will be interesting to see how Lawson develops the characters and situations in later books.  

Possessing Morgan by Erica Lawson

Publisher:            Blue Feather Books

Detective Morgan O'Callaghan isn't happy.  New York City appears to have gone on holiday for the summer and that means she's stuck doing paperwork, something she really hates.  When she finally gets a case it involves a famous financier who may have murdered a member of his household staff.  It also brings her in contact with the new Assistant District Attorney Andrea Worthington.  Morgan immediately dismisses Andrea as a straight spoiled Southern rich girl, but she's powerfully drawn to her.  Their work on the case is distracted by more than one attempt on Andy's life and Morgan finds herself trying to solve two mysteries at once.  Or, are the cases connected somehow?  Whatever the truth, Morgan and Andy come to realize that they are facing deadly forces and quickly solving one puzzle may lead to the solution of the other.   

Meanwhile, both women find themselves facing personal challenges.  Morgan must overcome her past and learn to trust another person while Andy struggles to free herself from the domination of her family and the future they think is appropriate for her.  Ultimately, they have to decide if they are the answer to each other's situation

Possessing Morgan is Erica Lawson's first book, but she shows more ability in her writing than most first time authors.  The characters are well developed and complex without being stereotypical.  The plot flows smoothly and has enough twists to keep the reader wondering what really is going on in the story.  Lawson has created a strong cast of supporting characters, including Morgan's partner and his family, and a police detective who is thoroughly unlikeable in his bigotry and arrogance.  The hardest characters to write must be the ones you know the reader won't like, so the author has to make them more believable than any others.  Lawson achieves that.  There are some parts of the story that are somewhat contrived.  At the end the two mysteries come together in a way that hardly seems possible in a city the size of New York, but this is fiction.  Lawson ties together several strands to create a very enjoyable book.

Possessing Morgan is an excellent first effort, which was proven when it won an award from the Golden Crown Literary Society.   The book is engaging and the type that you want to keep reading.  It certainly should generate interest in Erica Lawson's next book whenever it comes out.