I gave Caitlin Kittredge a try, a really good try.
I swear I did.
Scout's honor.

Jim Butcher's "Kittredge is a winner" on the jacket kept me reading her books long past the point where I normally would have thrown them in the shredder. I mean someone as good as Butcher can't be THIS wrong, can he?

So I read Night Life and Pure Blood, and though I wasn't all that impressed, forged on to Second Skin with hope in my heart and an eye out for the kind of subtle plot developments which would make the other two books (and Butcher's praise) make sense.

No such luck.

Luna Wilder (Yes. A werewolf named Luna. This is only matched by Jacqueline Carey's Loup Garron from [b:Santa Olivia|5931169|Santa Olivia (Santa Olivia, #1)|Jacqueline Carey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328689699s/5931169.jpg|6103611].) is a pathologically stubborn cop with a temper so bad one is hard pressed to imagine the circumstances under which she passed the psych review to get on the force, let alone five years of beat work in uniform and a promotion to Detective. Her werewolf condition makes her life difficult in random and yet conveniently controllable ways - despite nearly loosing control 3-4 times a book, Luna can be relied upon not to actually do so until an appropriate climax - and there is not a person in her life that she does not unremittingly bully, harass, shove away, and generally cuss out for the horrible crime of not wanting her to walk all over them. I enjoy a strong female character, but not so much a completely selfish one.

Much like Luna, the plot careens around from one graceless conflict to another. Much of the drama of the series is in the synthesis of what the reader knows about the real world and how life in Nocturne City, with its werewolves, witches, and other supernaturals, is different. But by book three, the neat factor (and believe me it is a neat world) has begun to fade and the lack of timely explanation in any of the books regarding what various supernaturals are, their limitations, customs and rules, generally means the plot twists are confusing rather than thrilling.

Finding out 'the butler did it' has only limited dramatic oomph if you didn't even know there was a thing called a butler in the first place.

The one thing I liked about this series was the world. Despite my misgivings about such an obvious naming scheme, "Nocturne City" is a place I'd like to go. It is well visualized, with a palpable history and atmosphere everywhere. As much as Jim Butcher's recommendation, I think my interest in the city, and the world that spawned it, kept me reading long past this series' expiry date.

If only the denizens of the city had such care in their formation, this series would be stellar.