The Cold Kiss of Death (Spellcrackers, #1)

by Suzanne McLeod

View our feature on Suzanne McLeod's The Cold Kiss of Death.

When sidhe-blooded Genny Taylor's friend is murdered and all evidence points to her, she goes on the run. But she's being pursued by some of the most powerful supernaturals in town-and one of them is most certainly the killer.

• ISBN10: 0441020399
• ISBN13: 9780441020393
• Publish Date: 26 April 2011 (first published 16 July 2009)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 28 October 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780441020393

Reviews

[Linda]

I love Genny. There, I said it. She's excellent, with her broken magic, her quirks, and her insecurities, she's still strong, and honest and loyal. And she fights till the very end. This book was so exciting, I kept on reading it in one og, and only finished at 1:30 am :) The story was detailed, and the descriptions of people and others, and places are extraordinary. I am sure I will dream of Genny, and her strange trips, and I hope I will see more of Malik in the next installment.

[Jo]

How awesome are book signings? Back in May 2009, not only did I get to meet Rachel Caine at her London book signing hosted by Murder One, but I also got to buy several books, one of which was the amazing The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod! Suzanne was also at the event, but I didn’t know – I hadn’t heard of her or her book at the time. But I feel in love with her series within the first few pages, and since reading it, I’ve been itching to read its sequel, The Cold Kiss of Death. I got lucky at Christmas, though, and I can’t tell you just how good these books are!

I don’t even know where to start, there was so much going on! It always amazes me how authors are able to write such complicated books, and have everything fit together. Genny has a series of problems in her life, some pretty inconsequential, some a little on the larger side, but when you get to the end and you realise all of the plot threads are part of a large jigsaw puzzle, it’s just wow! Suzanne is a very skilled writer!

We meet most of the characters we came across in the first book. Genny is our spunky heroine, a bean sidhe who has more problems than answers; Malik al-Kahn, the mysterious vampire connected to Genny’s past; Finn, Genny’s satyr boss and will-they-won’t-they love interest, and a range of other characters, none who seem to be being completely honest with Genny, and making things a whole lot harder for her. There’s still the hint of a possible love triangle, but even that gets more complicated – so frustrating, but in a good way!

We have action a-plenty in this novel! I can’t go into too much detail, it’s pretty spoilery, but it’s awesome to read! Some scenes are kind of disturbing, but it all has you sitting on the edge of your seat, the adrenalin pumping, jaw hanging at how unbelievable it is and how some of the characters act. I just love it all!

The ending is just so good, I can’t tell you! I closed the book feeling pretty sad, but in complete awe of how the whole story worked out. If you haven’t started this series, you really need to! It’s just so brilliant, and I can’t for the third in the series, The Bitter Seed of Magic, due in September 2010.