Dead on the Delta

by Stacey Jay

In present day Louisiana, a virulent plague is being spread by fairies. Long believed to be creatures that only existed in fairy tales, a chemical spill in the Mississippi River jumps the fairies evolutionary track forward, turning them from microscopic harmless things to two inch, insect-like creatures with three sets of teeth and a single-minded hunger for human flesh and blood.

75% of those bitten will slowly go mad from the poisons fairies pump into the blood to incapacitate their victims. 10% will escape madness, but will develop cancerous ulcers on their spine that lead to a slow and painful death. 10% will suffer an immediate allergic reaction that will cause violent seizures and lead to a quick death. 5% are immune, and these people are often drafted into service by the government to invade the swamps to collect samples from the fairies, in hopes of finding a cure for the death and destruction they're causing.

Alcoholic misfit Annabelle Lee is one of those drafted into service at Fairy Containment Control, and it's out on a job where she discovers the body of a little girl. Since the body is right off the swamp, the police assume that she's a victim of the fairies. But even to Annabelle, a glorified lab tech at best, something doesn't look right. Now she's on the trail to find out the truth. Was this just another fairy death brought on by a curious eight-year-old who wandered outside her house after dark? Or was it murder committed by someone who wanted the fairies to take care of the evidence?

• ISBN10: 1439189862
• ISBN13: 9781439189863
• Publish Date: 19 July 2011 (first published 31 May 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 17 February 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I'm a bit torn over Dead on the Delta. In some ways, I really enjoyed it, but in others, I really didn't. It certainly did have a unique set up. Fairies have made themselves known after some mutation made them larger and highly aggressive. They're like mosquitoes in many ways and prefer hanging out in the Louisiana bayou. Our narrator, Annabelle, is one of very few people who are immune to their venom, so she's the one who gets called out when a body of a young girl is found in the swamp.

What I did really like about Dead on the Delta was the way fairies were portrayed. They're not just magical humans who like to get up to no good. They're these little buzzing pests whose bites will kill you or make you lose your mind. It was also interesting how humans have a new drug known as Breeze; it's fairy poop (sometimes mixed with bleach, because why not?!). This was great! I also loved that ending! The plot is mainly a murder mystery and Annabelle is working on solving it, and once she finds the killer, holy crap! I love that kind of sick, twisted twist! It was awesome! If only the rest of the book had been that engaging!

Dead on the Delta is very diverse, except that it's not really. In the first chapter we learn that the town is 98% Black and Hispanic, and Annabelle is the pastiest redhead around. I know Urban Fantasy is all about the most special person, but why make virtually every character except for the main character a person of color? Sure, she stands out in her town, but she certainly doesn't stand out in the genre. It's obvious that the author isn't afraid of diversity, because most of the characters introduced are Black, Hispanic, or Korean. There's even a gay Latino! So why point out that there's only 2% white people and then make the main character white? Statistically speaking, she should be Black or Hispanic, just like it's statistics that she's dating a black man, but good fortune that he's gorgeous (page 6). Apparently good looking Black men are rare, even in a town that is mostly Black? Yeah, okay.

Some other things that bothered me about Dead on the Delta--although certainly not as much as the race issue--were that Annabelle is "only" 5 foot 8. That is tall for a woman! There is no "only" about it! And yet, she had to stand on her tiptoes to look into a window that was four feet off the ground. Really? Annabelle is also a "skinny fat person" which roughly translates into her loving beer and unhealthy food, but not gaining any weight. Because obviously eating greasy food and regular beer is solely the territory of fat people. I don't think so. There are other ways to get the point across that she doesn't gain weight but has a penchant for high calorie foods and drinks.

Dead on the Delta had the potential to be really great for me, but obviously there were several things that bothered me about it. I also just never warmed up to Annabelle. She's drunk all the time, or in need of a drink. She's super irresponsible and I'm surprised she hasn't been fired or arrested before. But I guess being super rare in her immunity to fairy venom gives her some immunity from the law, too. The ending was also super rushed, and I felt like I missed some things, especially with that three week time jump.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.