Memory Zero by Keri Arthur

Title: Memory Zero
Author: Keri Arthur
Series: #1 in the Spook Squad series
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Originally released by ImaJinn Books (June 15, 2004) re-released by Dell (August 26, 2014)
Source: NetGalley
Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: MORTAL RECALL

For Sam Ryan, life began at age fourteen. She has no memory of her parents or her childhood. In a decade of service with the State Police, Sam has exhausted the resources of the force searching for clues to her identity. But all mention of her family seems to have been deliberately wiped off the record. Everything changes the night Sam’s missing partner resurfaces as a vampire . . . and forces her to kill him in self-defense. Now Sam is charged with murder. Suspended from the force, and with no one left to trust, Sam accepts some unexpected help from Gabriel Stern, a shapeshifter who conceals startling secrets.

While investigating the circumstances surrounding her partner’s strange behavior, Sam discovers that Garbriel’s been involved with a dangerous organization that’s planning a war on the human race. More immediate, someone is guarding the truth about Sam’s past—someone who’d rather see her dead than risk her knowing too much. To stay alive, Sam must unravel the threads of her past—and find out not only who she is but what she is.

My Thoughts: Being a fan of Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen series I knew I was in for a treat with this one!

The Good and The Bad of it all: A lot of my good points could also be construed as bad so I'm lumping everything together. This book is non-stop action. It takes off from the beginning with Sam meeting her missing partner after a surprise call from him one night and it never lets up until the last few pages. This, for me, was great. It kept me turning the pages. I hated having to put the book down to go to work. I needed to see what would happen to Sam! Too much action can be a bad thing as well. There seems to be a trade-off with the action and developing the characters. Sure things went breakneck fast but perhaps at the expense of getting to know Sam and Gabriel better. I think the mystery of Sam worked out well though. Sam doesn't know who or what she is anymore than we, the readers do. She will become a full fleshed out character in due time. Gabriel is still quite a mystery but I like me some mysterious men!

There is no romance within this book. I like that this book left out sex and romance to focus on the world building and action. Although there isn't a specific timeline listed within this book it had a futuristic feel to it with the types of technology being used. This was cool but left me a little confused as the weaponry was high-tech, as was the communication/wrist units and crime scene locks, yet the cars and other aspects were closer to our current time frame. I think having a futuristic world feel could have been more consistent. Either go full on futuristic (like the JD Robb In Death series) or keep things in the now.

In a Nutshell: Overall, this was a good book, bordering on great. I'm intrigued with Sam and knowing she isn't exactly who she thought she was and is becoming more is motivation to read more in the trilogy.