This is a dark fantasy crime thriller set in Brisbane and I adored it. Angela Slatter has constructed a detailed world populated by the Weyrds and the Normals who are precariously managing to co-exist thanks to diligent policing by the likes of Bela, Verity and DI Rhoda McIntyre, a normal. We have a kick ass, half blood, PI Verity Fassbinder, whose only weyrd gift is her phenomenal strength, and is blessed with a grumpy and snarky attitude. She has a fraught and complicated relationship with her...

Welcome to Brisneyland! The story Angela Slatter presents us with in her debut solo-novel Vigil is a departure from her previous work, which I have heard people raving about for the past few years really. As such it was the perfect place for me to start my first Angela Slatter story, since it is the beginning of a series and the start of this new urban fantasy direction for the author. And I loved it. Vigil is a fantastic read, with a heroine who captured my heart.I loved Verity Fassbinder to bi...

A superb urban fantasy with wonderful characters and a unique Australian voice. The setting of Brisbane is great and a really refreshing change. The first of a potential trilogy, I'm really looking forward to more.

3 1/2First, let me thank Linda who recommended this book to me. I owe it to her for a new and exciting UF. Please read her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I agree to the word to what she says. A good story, a better heroine, uneven pacing. To me there were some plot points that weren't that clear, mostly the reason why she keeps working for them (a degree in art isn't a good excuse....), and what exactly went wrong in the past. Plus some side characters were a bit too shallow, na...

This could be UF, but I do not want to group it with that, because it is just so much more and different. The author herself says she writes dark fantasy, so dark urban fantasy mystery then. If you read UF you know how those go, kick-ass, fast etc etc. But this was fiction traced with the weyrd. Read it find out.First we do have to start with Fassbinder, I had to google it, it means Cooper. What? I had to, mostly to see if it had something do do with her dad's occupation. Ahem. No, but he was a

3.5 starsIt's hard to stand out in an overcrowded field of UF books, but Slatter's first book in the Verity Fassbinder series manages to do just that. It's set in Brisbane, a welcome departure from the usual US-based stories. Rather than the stock weres/vampires/witches world, this one features the Weyrd, basically mythical and fairytale creatures brought to life, with a few more familiar types thrown in. Verity, the protagonist, is a mixed blood, half Normal and half Weyrd. The fact that her We...

3.5*. Good 1st novel into a new urban fantasy set in Australia. Read really easily, but had some YA moments to it. The main character had some questionable decision making but overall still an enjoyable read. Definitely a series to watch.

This isn't a genre that I usually read, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story is well-crafted and tightly written, with a good dose of humour. Exposition of the other-worldly aspects is integrated well into the story. The central character of Verity is believable and likeable, and other characters are also well-drawn. I'll certainly be seeking out the next book in this series.

I do love a good Urban Fantasy me and this one, set in Brisbane, is totally rocking. Excellent setting, brilliant world building and a main character I adored.Verity Fassbinder is sharp, witty and different – half human half Weyrd she hovers between two worlds sorting out problems, keeping people (and everything else) in line. Well, kind of. She lives in the shadow of her good old Dad, doesnt suffer fools gladly and is impulsive enough to often get into trouble. Loved her.The layers built into t...

An urban fantasy novel set in my hometown of Brisbane and written by one of my favourite writers who's also a local.Verity Fassbinder is a half-blood in a city with a large Weyrd population. She's also what passes for the law in the Weyrd community, working indirectly for the local Council of Five and responsible for keeping the Weyrd out of the public eye of the Normal population. All of which gets very difficult with a spate of missing children and the body of a dead winged woman found outside...

I totally enjoyed this urban fantasy about half-Weyrd Verity Fassbinder, who investigates incidents of Weyrd misbehaviour and misconduct and makes sure humans never hear about the Weyrd sharing their city. The plot moves along well, and I liked Verity as she works on three different cases involving murder of a Siren, disappearing children, and the sudden disappearance of another half-Weyrd. Verity only Weyrd ability is her super strength, and her human curiosity, tenacity and strong moral code.T...

A number of years ago, Angela Slatter wrote "Brisneyland by Night" for Twelfth Planet Press' anthology Sprawl. It was excellent. Vigil is that story grown-up and turned into a novel, with at least two (I believe) more stories about Verity Fassbinder scheduled.This novel was sent to me by the publisher, as an uncorrected bound proof. Also, I had the enormous privilege of reading it in draft form, which I just can't tell you how awesome that was. I have re-read it now partly because I have a bad m...

This was pretty good! I was expecting another UF along the usual lines. Tired tropes, a little paranormal romance thrown in... but the setting in Brisbane is refreshing, the Weyrd are mysterious and there is good world building. It is not corny, there is no silly paranormal romance, Verity is kick-ass and snarky. The sleuthing could be a bit more intense—I like my crime to be a bit more procedural. But bottomline pretty darn good.This actually seems to be UF for grown-ups, what a nice discovery....

4.5 stars!I didn't realise how much I would enjoy this book, otherwise I would've picked up this proof a lot sooner! It was a tantalising mixture of crime combined with the supernatural and I loved it! Verity is sarcastic and driven, and often I'd find myself laughing aloud at her observations or comments. Plus, the supporting characters Bela, David, Ziggi, Mel and Lizzie (and a whole host of others) were incredible; all had their own quirks and personalities, I could visualise them alongside Ve...

I love a dark gritty fantasy and Vigil delivered this with a witty, cynical heroine, Verity Fassbinder at its helm. With a displaced childhood where her father betrayed her and his community, she's extremely protective of kids going missing, which is where the plot of the book is centred. As a PI with the superpower of strength, thanks to her dad's Weyrd heritage, she reminds me a lot of Jessica Jones without the PTSD. As she navigates the supernatural underworld of Brisbane, she encounters a ra...

I know what you're thinking.I know, because I had the same thoughts prior to reading this book.You're thinking about the fact that this is another urban fantasy title in a market already flooded with urban fantasy. You're also thinking about whether or not this book will offer anything different to the thousands of other titles released over the past few years. Something that will make it worth checking out.So let me make this clear from the outset.Vigil is a stunning and refreshing book, and it...

This wasn't love at first sight for me. The book felt like kind of a cross between the tv show Grim and Days of Blood & Starlight, with similar characters and mythology. The main character, Verity, was a contradiction. Daughter of a an evil child killer, with super strength-the possibilities are there... but the fear she was supposed to inspire in others fell a bit flat. The idea was that once she's involved in a situation, she barrels round breaking things until she gets answers. At one point s...

I have read a great deal of Angela Slatter's short fiction, and enjoyed it greatly. And by "greatly" I mean, 5-stars, up-to-the-top-of-my-favorite-authors-list, "greatly." When I heard she had a full-length novel coming out, I was shivering with antici... pation. Got the book through ILL since it isn't available in the US.Soooo... I was disappointed. I really didn't want to be, but I was. "Vigil" is a perfectly competent, supremely marketable, and firmly in-genre entry into the paranormal invest...

3.5 starsThis is an excellently written UF story set in Brisbane. I was fortunate to buddy read it with Brisbane resident Lindsay, among others, who kindly posted images of relevant locations as we went along. Brisbane is a city I'm totally unfamiliar with, so it was nice to get this visual accompaniment.The story is pretty fast paced and there is a lot going on. Verity is the fiesty heroine, a half blood who doesn't quite fit in the world of the Normals or the Weyrd, or supernatural. Slatter ha...

I used be a huge reader of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction, but I’m a tad fussy on what I do and don’t like when it comes to the genre, so it’s dropped back a bit for me in recent years. I don’t like it if it’s YA focussed, and let’s face it, more of this type of fiction is geared to the YA market, more’s the pity. When it comes to urban fantasy for adults, it often seems to cross over into the romance/erotic zone, and I’m not into that either. But this! The Verity Fassbinder series! I have...