Review: Disturbed Earth by E.E. Richardson

Published April 7, 2015 by Abaddon

Detective Chief Inspector Pierce's first day back to work after an injury sustained in the line of duty (in book one in the series, Under the Skin) promises to be a hectic one. The hectic one becomes a hectic few days as there are more calls into the Ritual Crime Unit: there are skulls covered in runes discovered buried in a field, a string of recent magical artifact thefts, a lantern in magical forensics is warning that something big is going to happen within the next few days, and there are druids camping out in the parking  lot demonstrating against the fact that someone has bought the site they normally worship at for the winter solstice. 

Things that go bump in the night are no stranger to DCI Pierce as much as she might wish otherwise. She has almost a whole new department of inexperienced people after the craziness of their previous case involving skin walkers. Her new second in command is pushy and wants to do things his way. He hires a necromancer to investigate the first of the skulls that are found. And things start to go sideways. Her boss seems to be concerned solely as what kind of publicity the department will receive based on the personnel's actions.

The department is spread thin as they try to investigate all of these things. They get some backup from the local police. Will they figure out what's going on in time to prevent something catastrophic from  happening?

Positives: DCI Pierce is not a young chick. She is experienced both in the way of magical things in her department, as much as she can be, and in office politics which she has to play like it or not. When she calls on an expert, she chooses another older woman who is an expert and professor in the field. The novel is told from DCI Pierce's point of view. The story is fast paced. It takes place over just a few days before the Winter Solstice. The mystery is a good one. It kept me guessing. It can be read as a standalone novel, which I did. 

Negative: DCI Pierce is the only character who is really fully developed. Some of the others could use a little flesh on their bones. They're not zombies, just a little less developed. And while the novel can be read as a standalone, it might be enjoyed more if you had read the first book in the series.

Overall, I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.