An original set of characters, certainly, with genetically-enhanced rabbits, rats, and foxes (among other things) joining the humans in San Francisco. And inter-species frictions causing riots throughout the rest of the country. A hard-boiled bunny leads as our detective hero trying to find out why her fox boyfriend was murdered. Swann has an annoying habit of referring to San Francisco as "Frisco" - something a native would *never* do. ( )

Angel Lopez, a rabbit moreau - moreaus being chimeras made of human and animal genetic stock, leads a rather boring life in San Francisco. It's been more than six years since private eye Nohar Rajasthan rescued her from death in Cleveland as detailed in Forests of the Night. She spends her spare time in bars and watching Non-Human Football games. Then she meets Byron, a charming vulpine moreau. But there's more to Byron than his charm as Angel soon finds out. And then she finds herself dodging multiple thugs, human and moreau, who all want something from her.

I didn't like this book quite as well as the first two moreau books. Part of that is that I just didn't find Angel as interesting as Nohar or covert operative Evi in Emperors of the Twilight. Those books combined private eye and spy plots with science fiction. Swann uses another stock plot - common person thrown into violent intrigue - here. That means this novel's beginning has no immediate violence unlike the first two books and is slow compared to them.

However, the pace soon picks up. Angel makes up in logic and stubborness what she doesn't have in training. And Swann puts another cynical twist on human politics, an even better one than the previous books. He also makes more revelations about the series' overarching villian. There's also a cyberpunk element.

Like the other books in the series, Swann has carefully crafted this one to stand alone or as an entry point.

A chronology of the moreau universe's history up to the end of this novel is also included. ( )