Finished Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh. I am on a reading tear! 😈 Also, this post has some spoilers, so beware.

Yes, this another book I got at RWA. I met Nalini at the Berkley signing. She was lovely, and since she’s from New Zealand (I think I’m telling you right), she has a gorgeous accent too.

Visions is the second book in Nalini’s Psy-Changeling series. It focuses on Faith, a Psy, or woman with psychic powers (foretelling the future), and Vaughn, a changeling, or shapeshifting jaguar. Faith uses her powers to predict business trends, but lately, she’s had visions of a serial killer — and sees the murder of her own sister. So, she seeks out Sasha, another Psy who’s gone rogue and lives with a group of changelings, which includes Vaughn. But the killer senses Faith and begins to pull her deeper and deeper into his visions …

And the fur really starts to fly. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). 😀

I’m not even scratching the surface with my synopsis. There’s a lot of stuff in this book — about emotions, about family, about being human. It’s an interesting read on a lot of levels, even if you’re not really into romance books.

Visions is basically a fantasy-science fiction hybrid. I’m usually not a big fan of science fiction, but Nalini’s concept is really cool – all the Psy folks have cut off their emotions to curb violence and are telepathically linked by a Net — and really well executed. (Although I did get a little tired of the Net and light descriptions toward the end).

There was a lot going on in Visions I didn’t understand right away (like all the Psy distinctions), mainly because I haven’t read the first book in the series. A problem I intend to rectify, especially since the third book, Caressed by Ice, comes out next week. A glossary in the front still would have been handy, though.

My only real quibble was the ending. There’s all this buildup to finding and catching the serial killer. And then, he’s just taken out. Poof! A former assassin (Judd, the hero of Book 3) does some sort of mind mojo on him, and the killer is dead. I wanted a face-to-face confrontation with Faith and the killer or more danger or … something. We never even learn the killer’s name, and Nalini hints that he was possessed, but we never learn that for sure one way or the other. (And honestly, I thought the killer would turn out to be Kaleb, another Psy battling Faith for a position on the Council, or governing body).

Despite that, the book is very well done. I can see why folks are buzzing about Nalini. So, thumbs up.

Up next: American Gods by Neil Gaiman.