Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: Still Life With Shapeshifter

By Sandy Amazeen Jul 30, 2012, 2:30 GMT

For most of her life, Melanie Landon has worked tirelessly to hide Ann, her younger half sister’s secret life as a shape shifter from the rest of the world. It has been a difficult burden at times, especially as Melanie’s life pretty much revolves around Ann’s sudden appearances and disappearances making her subject to wild mood swings. Fortunately, Melanie has one solid friend she can confide in, easing the feelings of isolation and being overwhelmed. An ex-boyfriend has been pressuring Melanie to sell the crumbling family home but she can’t, not even for an exorbitant price because that is the only place Ann is certain to find her way back to.

After watching a killer animal transform into a human while covering a breaking news story, Brody Westerbrook realized there is more to the world then most people realize. Brody is now on a mission to find out more about shape shifters and write a book about them. From the stories he has collected, Brody suspects Ann may be a shifter that quite naturally, alarms Melanie who vows to keep him at a distance. Keeping that distance will prove difficult as an undeniable attraction blossoms between them and Ann seems determined to let Brody in on her secret. As Ann’s health deteriorates, Melanie has little choice but to accept help from unexpected sources and finds more in Brody then she could have hoped for.

Book two of the Shifting Circle series expands the scope of the story yet loses none of the character depth and poignancy. While The Shape of Desire hinted at shape shifters’ generally shortened life spans, this examines the issue in greater detail with the benefit of taking the tale in new directions. A sweet secondary story twines throughout the book culminating in a haunting, bittersweet conclusion that again poses the question, what would you do for love. There is no blood, horror or carnage to be found and in that is a good thing as Shinn focuses on the human aspect and cost of being two natured.