Book Review: Stake-Out by Lily Luchesi

Former police officer Danny Mancini had fallen into a bottomless pit of alcoholism until Detective Angelica Cross dragged into a different kind of darkness. A darkness that contains his worst nightmares. Werewolves, vampires and other paranormal creatures stalk the night and Mancini has been drafted to hunt them. There was no way of knowing his life would flip upside down when Cross knocked on his door for the first time. But it’s up to Mancini and his new partner to lay a 200 year old case to rest.

In my personal opinion, Danny Mancini gave up his alcoholism too easily. He goes from heavily drinking to rarely drinking with no withdrawal symptoms, no cravings and no slips until Angelica Cross breaks his heart. He slips back into drinking for a little while, until he’s forced to snap out of his alcoholic state once more. I work in a hospital and have seen, first hand, the effects alcohol withdrawals have on a person. Someone who drinks as heavily as Danny Mancini did should have had headaches, possible altered mental state (which made me think, at first, that his memories of the past and suddenly hunting the paranormal were just effects of withdrawal, but that is not the case in this book), nausea, anxiety or irritability, etc. But Danny doesn’t seem to have any of these effects. He stops drinking and doesn’t look back until his heart is broken. I had trouble believing this.

Danny’s relationship with Angelica grew rapidly, as it should for a novella. We want a love story, and Luchesi gives us just that. I’m curious to see how their relationship will pan out in the next book, especially now that Danny knows their history.

Danny’s memories of the past, coming through as flashbacks that he shrugged off as dreams, was a major twist to the story and I loved it. I never would have expected that to happen. However, once I knew they were true memories I knew it had to do with a love connection. As a writer, many plot twists were predictable for me. But as a reader, these may come as true shockers. Luchesi did a great job at keeping the story moving along and though some parts seemed rushed, the overall story was perfectly paced.

I also knew immediately something was up with Angelica and I was surprised Danny didn’t pick up on it sooner. His heart may have been in the way of the rational part of his mind, but he should have at least had an inkling something was different.

Though this isn’t typically a genre I tend to read, I enjoyed the book. Luchesi has a potential to be a great author and I’m excited to watch as her journey unfolds.