Mini-Review: Spider's Lullaby by James R. Tuck

Title: Spider's Lullaby
Author: James R. Tuck
Series: Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter #1.5
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 06/26/11
Reviewed by: Sara
Summary:

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities take out any kind of unnatural threat. But between this bad-ass bounty hunter and rescuing the most helpless of victims stands the one evil he can’t defeat...

For Deacon Chalk, loyalty is worth dying for. And now that something has taken were-spider Charlotte’s un-hatched children and one of his closest friends, he’ll tear up the human and supernatural underworlds to find them. But with his allies stripped away by an invincible Yakuza hit man and time running out, Deacon must face down the most ancient of demonic entities. And his last hope means surrendering to the inner darkness waiting hungrily to consume him...

Mini-Review: This novella is definitely a nice way to get your Deacon fix while waiting for book two, which releases in August. I really enjoyed learning more about the were-spiders. They're definitely an underused were-creature in urban fantasy. And of course, Deacon was totally badass. The novella was a quick read (I read it in an afternoon), but nothing about it came across as rushed. I liked learning more about Charlotte, the were-spider we met in book one. She's definitely an intriguing character. My favorite detail of the cover is the web background.

Plot: 4 Stars
Pace: 4.5 Stars
Characters: 4 Stars
Cover: 3 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars

Disclosure: I received a eARC of this novella for review from the author.