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Shadows Inquiries series

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Sins & Shadows (Shadows Inquiries

Sins & Shadows (2009) ~ Shadows Inquiries series #1 by Lyn Benedict

Shadows Inquiries series — by Lyn Benedict 

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy

Series Description or Overview[]

The Premise: Sylvie Lightener is a a private investigator specializing in paranormal cases. She's been through a lot, including the recent killing of one of her employees, and in an effort to protect the people around her, she's closing up shop. Just as she does, one last customer comes in. This man tells her: "My name is Kevin Dunne. I am the god of Justice. And I need your help." He wants Sylvie to find his missing lover, who he can't find anywhere, but he knows that he is still alive. Since Sylvie isn't really allowed to say no, she flies to Chicago to investigate. ~ janicu's book blog

Lead's Species[]

  • Paranormal-PI, sorceress powers

Primary Supe[]

  • Gods

What Sets it Apart[]

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

  • Third person narrative, mostly from Sylvia Lightener's perspsective. 

Books in Series[]

Shadows Inquiries series:

  1. Sins & Shadows (2009) 
  2. Ghosts & Echoes (2010) 
  3. Gods & Monsters (2011) 
  4. Lies & Omens (2012) 

Themes[]

Love, vengeance, and the havoc that gods wreak when they meddle in mortal affairs.

World Building[]

Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES

Setting[]

Miami / Chicago 

Places:

  • Everglades

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Para-PI, sorceress, gods, erinyes, witch, Greek gods, Christian god, Furies, sorcerer, Lilith, haunt, Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, Aztec mythology, Magical Mundi monsters, , , , ,

Glossary:[]

  • Magicus Mundi: supernatural world of monsters and dark magic
  • God of Justice:
  • Tepeyollotl (aka Tepe), the Aztec god of earthquakes and jaguars
  • Hands of Glory:

Groups & Organizations:[]

  • ISI: the secretive Internal Surveillance and Intelligence agency—a group of incompetent and hostile government agents who stalk her every move—think Homeland Security gone wild.

World[]

Wisecracking Sylvie Lightner (aka Shadows) has a complex set of paranormal powers, including the ability to resist many types of dark magic. She and her friend Alexandra Figueroa-Smith (aka Alex) run Shadows Inquiries, which Sylvie describes as “a P.I. firm without a license.” Her motto (tattooed on her back) is Cedo Nulli (“I do not yield”), and she is a tough, streetwise survivor with a sardonic and flippant attitude toward practically everyone. Here, Sylvie explains that a local police detective doesn't much like her because she "had so many strikes against her that it was hard to pick out which one bothered him the most. Unlicensed PI with a reputation for trouble? A vigilante who took care of problems the police didn't want to acknowledge? A woman with a liking for large-caliber weaponry, a smart mouth, and something dangerous in her blood?" (Lies & Omens, pp. 1-2)

Sylvie has two main enemies: Magicus Mundi, the supernatural world of monsters and dark magic, and the secretive Internal Surveillance and Intelligence agency (aka ISI, aka Internal Surveillance and Investigation—in book 4), a group of incompetent and hostile government agents who stalk her every move—think Homeland Security gone wild. Sylvie's primary contact with the ISI is Agent Michael Demalion, who was her lover until she learned that he was really an ISI spy. Demalion goes through many trials and tribulations—and several very different identities—as the series progresses. Knowledge of the hierarchy of Greek, Egyptian, and Aztec mythology is helpful in understanding the finer points of the plots. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES

Protagonist[]

✥ Sylvie Lightner: aka "Shadows," who works as a sort of paranormal P.I. After a satanic cult kills one of her friends, Sylvie is about to call it quits. Just as she's firing her assistant and packing her office, she is approached by a god in need. Kevin Dunne is the Greek god of Justice, and he's shown up with his Furies in tow, wanting Sylvie to help him find his missing lover. ~

✥ Sylvie has dealt with all kinds of monsters. During most of that time, the ISI has been hounding her, sometimes secretly and sometimes overtly. By now, Sylvie is finding it harder to draw the line between the real monsters and the human ones, and she's finding it progressively easier to kill. If she doesn't stop, she fears, she may become one of the monsters herself. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Lyn Benedict's SHADOWS INQUIRIES SERIES

Sidekick[]

  • Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Characters What About
Sylvie Lightner Supe P.I. descendant of Lilith;
Kevin Dunne god of Justice wants Sylvie to find his missing lover
Michael Demalion ISI agent her lover until she learned that he was really an ISI spy. Demalion goes through several very different identities
Wright Chicago cop; killed and brought back to life; has a passenger on board....a haunt; tracked Slyvie through his dreams; 
Zoe teen Sylvie's little sister;
Agent Michael Demalion ISI Agent was her lover until she learned that he was really an ISI spy;
Lilith goddess power-hungry
ancient sorcerer demented;
Tierney Wales necromancer uses hands of glory to enhance his powers;
Tepe, Tepeyollotl Aztec god earthquakes and jaguars;
witch trying to kill Sylvie with spells, curses, and knife-wielding thugs
Cachita, Caridad Valdes-Pedraza magical connection to Tepe tries to pass herself off as an investigative journalist; absorbed god-like powers #3;
Erinya One of the Furies turns up to assist Sylvie, but causes so much violent trouble; bored with her empire in the realm of the gods, spends a lot of her time on earth, killing "bad" people; rescues Sylvie, with disastrous results;
Alex assistant to Sylvia seemingly normal; slightly alarming, fact about him comes to light;
Lupe #4 shape-shifter-multi shape-shifting curse placed on her; escalates from normal animals to monsters; needs Sylvie to find witch to break curse;
Marah #4 ISI assassin becomes Sylvie's nemesis;

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column.

Lyn Benedict

Lyn Benedict — Author

Author[]

Lyn Benedict

Bio: Lane Robins was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of two scientists, and grew up as the first human member of their menagerie. When it came time for a career, it was a hard choice between veterinarian and writer. It turned out to be far more fun to write about blood than to work with it. She received her BA in Creative Writing from Beloit College, and currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with an ever-fluctuating number of dogs and cats. ~ FF and GR

  • Full Bio:

Contributors[]

Cover Artists[]

Other Contributors:[]

  • Audio Book Narrator: — Source:
  • Editor: — Source:

Publishing Information[]

  1. Sins & Shadows: 
  2. Ghosts & Echoes: 
  3. Gods & Monsters: 
  4. Lies & Omens: 

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE—Sins & Shadows (2009): Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real-and where death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she's closing up shop-until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover. And he won't take no for an answer. ~ Goodreads | Sins & Shadows (Shadows Inquiries, #1) by Lyn Benedict

✤ BOOK TWO—Ghosts & Echoes (2010):  Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real-and where death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she's closing up shop-until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover. And he won't take no for an answer. ~ Goodreads | Ghosts & Echoes (Shadows Inquiries #2) by Lyn Benedict

✤ BOOK THREE—Gods & Monsters (2011): Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual and unbelievable. When she finds the bodies of five women in the Florida Everglades, Sylvie believes them to be the work of a serial killer and passes the buck. But when the bodies wake and shift shape, killing the police, Sylvie finds herself at the head of a potentially lethal investigation. ~ Goodreads | Gods & Monsters (Shadows Inquiries #3) by Lyn Benedict

✤ BOOK FOUR—Lies & Omens (2012): Sylvie Lightner is a P.I. specializing in the unusual—in a world where magic is real, and Hell is just around the corner. After escaping secret government cells and destroying a Miami landmark, Sylvie’s trying to lay low—something that gets easier when a magical force starts taking out her enemies. But these magical attacks are a risk to bystanders, and Sylvie can’t let that slide. When the war between the government and the magical world threatens the three people closest to her—her assistant, her sister, and her lover—Sylvie has no choice but to get involved with hidden powers bent on shaping the world to their liking. Now, with death and disaster on the horizon, even if Sylvie wins, things will never be the same. ~ Goodreads | Lies & Omens (Shadows Inquiries, #4) by Lyn Benedict

First Sentences[]

  1. Sins & Shadows (2009) — Sylvie Lightner studied her coffeemaker with a weary and contemplative eye, trying to decide if she should dump the carafe and pack the machine now, or keep the caffeine until the very last moment.
  2. Ghosts & Echoes (2010) — Just before 2 P.M., South Beach traffic was as slow as it ever got.
  3. Gods & Monsters (2011) — For once, when people started dying, Sylvie Lightner wasn't at ground zero.
  4. Lies & Omens (2012) — Prologue: "I don't know about this," Detective Raul Garza said again. / Chapter #1: Sylvie had a whole list of things she disliked—misogynist sorcerers, incompetent drivers, government agents who ride her office illegally, trashed her security, and absconded with her files, lovers who were too busy to call, and cops who weren't—too many things to really enumerate or an, but frantic phone calls from her clients were close to the top.

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

Awards[]

Read Alikes (suggestions)[]

— If you like these, you may like this:

Notes[]

See Also[]

External References[]

Books:

Freebies & Excerpts:

Summaries:

Sins & Shadows (Shadows Inquiries

Sins & Shadows (2009) ~ Shadows Inquiries series #1 by Lyn Benedict

World, Characters, etc:


  1. Sins & Shadows (2009) 
  2. Ghosts & Echoes (2010) 
  3. Gods & Monsters (2011) 
  4. Lies & Omens (2012) 

Reviews:

Interviews, Guest Posts, Author Commentary:

Articles:

Artist:

Author:

Community, Fan Sites:

Gallery of Book Covers[]

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