Scent of Shadows has some intriguing ideas. The book pits comic book hero type characters in a battle between Light and Shadow using the symbols of the Zodiac. Each Zodiac sign has a corresponding fighter in both Light and Shadow. There is a prophecy that the Kairos will come, and the Shadow forces are hunting him or her down.The Light and Shadow heroes track each other by scents. They each have their own specialty weapon exclusive to themselves. If they are killed by their own weapon, the killer gets to have 12 hours of “unscented” time where they are virtually invisible to their enemies.A little confusing, but it is a clever idea, and one I haven’t seen before. The setting for this book is in Las Vegas, which was perfect for this type of book. I can just imagine a TV series made with this book in mind. It could work.The main character Joanna/Olivia was a kick-ass heroine, but I felt that she wasn’t as strong as some of the female characters out in urban fantasyland. She was tough, but not the most likable character out there. Her merry band of Light Zodiac heroes were not the most welcoming out there, although I did like Hunter and Warren the best. I had a few things that I disliked about this book. I did feel lost at times, waiting for an explanation, a clarification, or further development of a plot point. There were large expanses of slow moving activity. I never did understand the principle of metamorphosis or why it happened. There was a tiny bit of romance, and even though I didn’t expect it, it just was not enough. The last 100 or so pages did get exciting. I may look into the second book, but not right away.
