Shea Stevens wakes up to one of the worst days she’s had lately. Her motorcycle shop has been broken into, and not only is her merchandise gone, the custom bikes made for one of the most popular bands have been stolen. And as bad as the day started, the next few are only going to get worse.
Iron Goddess, the debut novel from Dharma Kelleher starts with a full throttled roar, and carries that intensity straight through the very last page. Not an incredibly easy feat, and one handled with deft prose and no holds back action.
Shea grew up in a biker gang, so she knows her way in and around them. Those skills that Shea learned and honed before going to prison are going to come in handy very soon. In fact, they start coming in handy later that morning when Shea’s estranged sister shows up with a plea to find her daughter who has been kidnapped.
Looking for her sister’s child puts Shea in the most dangerous situations of her life. From trying to escape the wrath of the Jaguars, the local heroin dealing gang, running from the cops under suspicion of kidnapping and murder, trying to figure out who kidnapped her niece, and working to stay in the good graces of her new girlfriend, Shea has her work cut out for her.
I can’t really say too much more, because it’ll give away the majority of the plot points. But it’s a fun read. It comes across as a version of the most pumped up action movie you can imagine, amplified by ten, and staring the most kickass, butchass biker dyke ever. And while Shea keeps getting curb stomped by the nonstop action in her life, she protects those she finds most dear to her.
Total novel to be recommended to the action-adventure fans, the lovers of dykes, and of strong, kickass women who refuse to roll over and take what life hands to them. It’s a very fast read, with some very, very brutal violence. That may be a turnoff for some readers, so I’m giving fair warning. It’s brutal and graphic, but it’s pretty important to the story, and the future Shea Stevens novels will add to the violence and body count.
Iron Goddess
Dharma Kelleher
Publisher: Alibi (June 28, 2016)
Publication Date: June 28, 2016
Sold by: Random House LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B0190HN0FK
Robin is a semi-coherent, almost sentient being. She has some strange ideas, and some even stranger friends. Disabled, queer, agnostic, accident-prone & other adjectives.
She loves music, and talks about new releases from bands frequently. She also enjoys going to shows to recap them, and listening to albums by bands that "mainstream" music isn't interested in, because they're often the best music out there.
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