The Scent of Shadows, First
Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson

Release Date: March 1, 2007
Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
English
ISBN010: 0060898917
ISBN-13: 978-0060898915

The First Sign of the Zodiac

The Scent of Shadows

When she was sixteen, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert.

By rights, she should be dead.

Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset – a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow – seeking answers to whom or what she really is ... and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure.

But the nightmare is just beginning – for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful Shadows want her for their own...

» Read An Excerpt

Reviews

"[It] came out of nowhere and slapped me silly. Then it lingered days after I closed the cover....Vicki Pettersson is a new voice that needs to be heard."

– NYT Bestselling author Kim Harrison

"From the one-damn-thing-after-another school of unputdownable books, [it] rockets into the air and explodes like fireworks, with nonstop bursts of action and imagination."

– NYT Bestselling author Diana Gabaldon

"The forces of Light and Dark battle over Las Vegas in this very exciting series debut ... read at your own risk – it'll keep you up past your bedtime."

– NYT Bestselling Author Charlaine Harris

"Moody, fast-paced...blends fantasy, comic book superheroism and paranormal romance, but holds no promise of a happily-ever-after.... Imaginative.... [Readers] will embrace Pettersson's enduring, tough-as-nails heroine and anticipate gleefully the next volume."

– Publishers Weekly

"Combining comic-book adventures, astrology and a war between light and shadow, Pettersson's stunning debut is an attention grabber. Original, with a tough and tormented heroine, it delivers a complex new mythology as well as emotional drama and action galore. Pettersson is definitely a hot new star on the rise!"

– Romantic Times

"Paranormal Romance gets no better than this! Author Vicki Pettersson actually gives life to her characters! My heart ached whenever Joanna grieved and I even gave out a loud "YES!" as she fought the Shadow Warriors. I was pulled into the story without even realizing it. I can hardly wait for the next installment of this bright new series!"

– Huntress Reviews/Detra Fitch

Fast moving and emotionally charged, The Scent Of Shadows is an incredible adventure that had me spellbound and imprisoned until the final page... Ms. Pettersson is a wonderful storyteller with an incredible imagination that can pull you right into the story.

– JoyfullyReviewed.com

Urban fantasy fans, rejoice! Vicki Pettersson steps up to the plate and delivers a homerun with the first book in her phenomenal new series, THE SCENT OF SHADOWS! This carefully crafted novel chronicles the rise of Joanna Archer as she becomes a member of a superhero-like fighting force. Joanna's character is exceptionally well done as she is very realistic with her emotions. Joanna's struggles will keep readers enthralled as this is a book you just can't put down ... don't miss out on this book as it's the first book by an author who looks to be one of the new masters of the urban fantasy genre!

– Kwips and Kritiques/Debbie

Fans of dark paranormals who are getting a little weary of the current glut of vampires, werewolves and other assorted shape shifters, rejoice! Newcomer Vicki Pettersson makes a stunning debut in the first of her Sign of the Zodiac series, The Scent of Shadows.

Pettersson presents a stylish, highly imaginative and deeply emotional start to her Zodiac series. It's dark, edgy and intense and teems with visually stylistic prose that leaps off the page and wraps itself around your imagination. Joanna is a fascinating and strong lead who oozes dark allure ... Vicki Pettersson is indeed an outstanding and strong new voice in dark fantasy and she makes a powerhouse debut in The Scent of Shadows.

– Bookloons Reviews/Martina Bexte

"One of the most engaging, frightening, and heartfelt books I've read ... Vicki has no problems killing her darlings, both literally and figuratively, raising the emotional risk to each and every character you meet ... It's a testament to the author's talent that she ensnared me so fully with her story of deception, lost love, and hope."

– Jackie/BittenbyBooks (read more)

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About The Books

The Signs of the Zodiac Series

I hate to say the idea for this series came to me in a dream – it sounds too precious and capricious, like writing is something that comes to you rather than something you have to work for – but that's exactly how this idea germinated. I woke up laughing, having just imagined a caricature-ishly beautiful woman fending off a leather-clad homicidal maniac with an overpriced stiletto. If you've read SCENT you'll know the scene I mean. The juxtaposition between silly and scary was enough to get me interested and asking questions. What was the situation here? Why would this guy be attacking her? And how do I make someone this ridiculously beautiful sympathetic?

The series is set in Las Vegas because it's the best possible place in the world for strange characters, and because I know it well. I also wanted to blend fact with fiction, sharing real places with my readers – like the Neon Boneyard, and the old-school ultra lounge at the Peppermill. It's a way for the Vegas girl in me to pay homage to the town I grew up in.

The fantasy aspect, in the form of superhero mythology, was a complete surprise. I don't know what it is about entering your thirties that engenders feeling more settled and centered and powerful than ever before, but this is how I was feeling when I created my protagonist, Joanna Archer, and she absolutely mirrors these things (though, admittedly, in the extreme). However, Jo doesn't just become the woman she's meant to be, she becomes the superwoman she's meant to be. The core question that intrigued me here was this: What makes a person truly super human? The answer I came up with? Living up to your potential, even if – or, in Jo's case, especially if – it means saving the world in the process.

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