Our hero, Faythe Sanders, is thrown into a world of violent strife in this premiere episode of Vincent’s Shifters series.  Her story begins when she catches the scent of, and is confronted by, a fellow werecat.  This antagonising feline, who is described as a Stray – a human who has been scratched or bitten by a werecat (in traditional werewolf fashion) – begins the plight of Faythe and her Pride – a collection of (mostly) born werecats, most of whom are related by blood.  Faythe is stringently protective of her independence and is not, at all, pleased when her run-in with this unknown Stray catalyses a string of events that land her back into the lap of the family she has worked hard to avoid for the past five years. 

Throughout its 618 pages, Stray provides edge-of-your-seat action and adventure from the playful antics of a Pride of werecats hunting on the family ranch to the climax of the novel wherein the heroes confront the villains.  There are few dull moments.  There is, subsequently, also not a great deal of character evolution.  Vincent has endeavoured to begin not only a single tome, but an entire series by writing in the first person perspective, utilizing Faythe as her narrator.  This is a dangerous gamble and difficult to pull off.  Unfortunately, Faythe Sanders is a shallow character and does not inspire much affection.  It was difficult to feel drawn into her world, or her plight.  Vincent’s supplementary characters, too, show no real depth and seem to exist merely for the witty rapport, and sexual tension, that unites most of this tale’s players. 

Vincent’s writing style is basic, but clean.  She peppers her narrative with contemporary, witty descriptors:

    •    Strays have a distinctive scent, which is easily distinguished from that of a Pride-born cat.  It’s like the difference in taste between Coke and Pepsi: subtle if you never drink either, but unmistakable if you’re accustomed to one and suddenly confronted with a mouthful of the other. (Vincent 234.)

It was also refreshing, given the adult Urban Fantasy genre, to see a story that did not require a smattering of four letter words to make its point.  There were curses, throughout the pages of this story, but their numbers were not strong and the tale thrived without gratuitous vulgarity. 

Overall, I did not thoroughly enjoy this novel.  Vincent’s writing did make me smile once or twice in its description and (sometimes) surprising wit, but the story arc was as deep as the characters in it, and those characters tended to be more irritating and cliché than anything else.  I felt cheated by Vincent’s introduction of Faythe as not only her protagonist, but also her narrator.  She was spoilt, whiny and irritating; not at all someone I felt drawn to or supportive of at any part in her journey.  I hold high hopes that Miss Sanders evolves throughout the Shifters series, though I will likely not be continuing to join her in her journey for future reviews.  A final warning to those of you interested in picking up Stray for a quick treat to your busy, overworked, minds: beware the implied forced sexual interactions.  Rape is not described in immediate detail, but it does exist in this story and it is disturbing.

 Review by Books & Company’s own Kim Greer, bookseller, voracious reader and aspiring writer