This first book in a new urban fantasy series introduces Alex Connor who is the new coroner for Hughes County in Pierre, South Dakota. Alex ran for the post on a bet. She is a new college graduate in forensic science who is a med school dropout. Things got in the way. Like a conviction that her stepmother was a demon, a boyfriend jailed for assaulting her stepmother, and Alex's own mental problems and hospitalization. After all, the things Alex has seen all her life, including trolls under bridges, couldn't possibly be true.Pierre and her new job should be just the new start she is looking for. However, when her first body gets up and walks off in the middle of an autopsy, she gets involved in the paranormal part of Pierre. When she confesses to the police chief that the body is missing, she gets directed to Precinct 13 - the paranormal police force in Pierre. There she meets a number of other paranormals including a half-fae officer, a golem, a technomage, and a werewolf-vampire cross. Life gets even stranger when she learns that she might be a witch. But if she is a witch, where is her familiar? Enter the former boyfriend - Valentine - who happens to be a very rare dragon and a most unusual familiar. Alex is soon very involved in solving the case of her missing necromancer and also a case involving crop circles and cow mutilations. This was a fun introduction to a new series. Alex is a great character who adapts pretty well to the new world she has entered. Valentine is also a unique sort of hero and love interest. Dragons are exactly cuddly or human but he is devoted to Alex. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
