Review! Roadkill by Rob Thurman

RoadKill
A Cal Leandross Novel, book 5
Rob Thurman
Roc
March 2, 2010
ISBN-10: 0451463196
ISBN-13: 978-0451463197

Once, while half-human Cal Leandros and his brother Niko were working on a case, an ancient gypsy queen gave them a good old-fashioned backstabbing.  They barely made it out alive.  Now, as their P.I. business teeters on insolvency, guess who shows up with a job?  

The gypsy crone wants them to find a stolen coffin. Cal would rather help her into one, but this coffin contains an evil known as the Plague of the World--and it makes the Black Death seem like a fond memory. 

But the thief has already left town, so the Leandros brothers are going on the road.  And if they're very, very lucky, there might even be a return trip...

Cal Leandros is not completely human. He's a mix between Auphe, an ancient race of nightmare-worthy beings and human. As such, he's pretty much hated by everyone and feared on sight. There's only one person who doesn't want him dead and that is his brother, Niko, who is completely human. They run a private investigation business together and are incredibly close.

Now, they have a new job. An ancient Gypsy queen, who by the way, almost got Niko killed in the past and Cal would be more than happy to shoot her in the head than anything, wants them to find someone. But we're not talking about an old boyfriend or someone who owes her money, but an antihealer locked in a coffin who is called the Plague of the World. That little nickname should give you a hint just how evil this guy is. He was stolen by someone unknown and Cal and Niko have to find them before the guy who makes the Black Death seem like children's play gets out of his coffin and makes the world one unhappy place.

Two words: Road trip! But this road trip won't involve crashing parties and skinny dipping with strangers, more like fighting dogs from hell, having to put up a horny puck, a man stuck as a wolf, and a grumpy healer. 

No one ever said saving the world was easy. 

First of all, let me say that if you want to read Roadkill without having read the previous books, you will not be lost! This was a huge plus for me as I haven't read the other books and I was really worried I was going to be super lost but I'm happy to report that I wasn't. Thurman gives enough back story for the reader to understand what's going on. 

I fell in love with Cal from the beginning. He's a trigger-happy smart ass who is more likely to shoot first, ask questions later and I loved his wicked sense of humor. The story is told in mostly his point of view but we do get some insight from Catcher, the guy who is stuck as a wolf. I would have liked to have read from Niko's point. He's a really interesting character and I just wished the story would have been told from his point, as well. The trickster Robin Goodfellow was hilarious! He easily became one of my favorite characters.The plot is just a never-ending thrill-ride, Cal and Niko just can't catch a break in trying to find Suyolak, the guy in the coffin, they keep getting roadblock after roadblock, no pun intended, but they're not giving up because that would mean buh-bye world! 

I really enjoyed reading Roadkill. The characters are kick ass, especially Cal, but there were certainly parts that had me tearing up. The plot was a blast to read and I will definitely be reading the previous and future books featuring the Leandros brothers.