Disposable People by Mia Darien
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Even Adelheid has a dark side…
Detective Vance Johnston has a lot going for him. He’s got good friends, a job he likes, gets to play tiger every now and then, and is getting ready to propose to his long time girlfriend, Sadie Stanton. Things are looking pretty good.
That is until a shocking turn of events sends him into a case at the last minute that threatens not just everything in his life, but his life itself. Thrust into the seedy underbelly of the preternatural organized crime world, Vance is trapped, a prisoner to the entertainment and money of a darkness threatening to undermine Adelheid.
But he’s not alone. Not just in the prison he’s kept in, but on the outside too. He just has to hang on until help comes, but that’s going to be anything but easy as his own beast within is used against him.
[Full disclosure: I obtained a free ebook through the blog tour for the series but was under no obligation to review it. As always, this review is honest.]
By this fifth book in the Adelheid series, it almost seems like we’ve come full circle. In the first book, Cameron’s Law we have Sadie’s point of view as she falls in love with Vance and solves a huge mystery related to the hatred of supernaturals. Now in Disposable People we have Vance’s point of view as he wants to take his relationship with Sadie to the next level when he suddenly is involved in a huge mystery related to the hatred of supernaturals. Even two years after Cameron’s Law was passed, not all humans are eager to accept the supernatural community as fellow humans. If you’ve stuck with the series from the beginning you’ll notice that quite a bit has changed in regards to supernatural rights but some things still remain the same.
As with all of the books in the series, Disposable People is an excellent addition to the world of Adelheid. Not only do we see some of the severe repercussions of supernatural hatred but we also see how some supernaturals are their own worst enemies. Through Vance’s eyes we see the ugly underworld that exists even in a town like Adelheid that is more accepting of supernaturals than many other towns. In the first book from Sadie’s point of view we saw some of that underworld but Vance of course gets to see the worst of it when he’s captured and is turned into a gladiator against his will. The reason behind this sick form of entertainment is interesting but I can’t really discuss it without giving too much away.
Vance is a great main character. He loves Sadie quite a bit but Sadie is still a little reluctant to commit to him after losing her human husband in the crash that nearly killed her as well as her boyfriend Cameron, the one who inspired Cameron’s Law (the one that gave supernaturals the same rights and protections as humans). Considering her score is 0-2, you can’t blame her for being a little gun shy but at the same time Vance is willing to wait for her to come around. They fight a bit and of course that’s when Vance is kidnapped and seemingly vanishes. While Vance is in the disgusting gladiatorial arena you really see a lot of character growth in him. He was, of course, a pretty good person before then but you really do see his sympathetic/empathetic side come out in full during the sheer horror of being forced to kill his fellow supernaturals against his will. All the while, he tries so hard to hold onto his humanity and it’s a testament to the strength of his character that he tries so hard to lessen the pain of everyone else around him. He’s an amazing character.
The plot is very fast-paced and although you’ll probably be able to guess some of the plot twists, some of them were also pretty shocking. In hindsight they make sense but while you’re reading the book they can definitely blindside you. Disposable People seems to start off slowly enough but things heat up pretty quickly and really don’t let up until the end. It’s a really fast-paced book and you’ll be frantically turning pages by the end, hoping against hope for a happy ending. And of course, like the other books, the conclusion is satisfying but definitely doesn’t close the door on the world of Adelheid, which still has a lot of stories left to be told.
I give this book 5/5 stars.