This is a novel of the Menagerie. I discovered this was part of a series after I’d already gotten into it. It was good enough that I’ll go back and read the preceding stories. And this was good enough to stand alone.

The Menagerie are a mixed group of creatures – none of which are human…anymore. They collaborate to combat real evil and are led by a charismatic but enigmatic fellow by the name of Doyle. Doyle and his love, a Faerie Princess, plus a demon-teenager, a hobgoblin who would rather not be a hero, and a ghost are brought together when they are all threatened by otherworldly forces for unknown reasons. The reasons become more clear when some very heavy-hitting evil guys kidnap Eve – the mother of all humanity and of all vampires. When Eve was thrown out of the Garden of Eden, she was captured by a nasty demon who made her into a vampire and insane. Many eons later, by an accident, Eve regained her sanity and memory at which time she declared merciless war on all her vampire children.

A really big evil is coming to our plane of existence and, for some reason, the local nasties have a plan that involves getting Eve back into the Garden of Eden. She can’t imagine how that’s possible since she’s tainted and there’s no way God is letting her back in. But the hope for redemption that suddenly springs up in her heart overshadows her natural caution. Meanwhile, the Menagerie, fearing the worst, are coming to save her; just as soon as they can save themselves first. And if the evil ones succeed, the Garden of Eden may be lost forever.

The characters are marvelous. I am fascinated by their back history and I love the idea of these people working together. I missed mentioning the most fascinating of all – Clay – who was the template God used to create all life, and then abandoned. The plot was well done and the pacing good. A very engrossing read. - Catherine Book