Hi guys, we have Reesa Herberth & Michelle Moore stopping by on the last day of their tour for Peripheral People, we have a fantastic guest post, a brilliant excerpt, an awesome giveaway and my review, so check out the post and click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~

Peripheral People

Reesa Herberth & Michelle Moore

Corwin Menivie and Nika Santivan are decorated veterans of the Imperial Enforcement Coalition, and are perfectly capable of solving cases the old-fashioned way. When they’re paired with Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale, the most powerful Reader/Ground team to emerge from the Psionics Academy, it could either be the best thing that’s ever happened to crime fighting, or the makings of a quadruple homicide.

During a routine investigation, West’s talent puts them on the trail of a brutal serial killer who traps his prey in a deadly mental playground. Then the killer starts baiting the team, laying psychic landmines at crime scenes and exposing IEC secrets. The strain of the case binds the agents closer together—so close that Nika and Gavin start sharing a room, and even the curmudgeonly Corwin finds himself as occupied with West as he is with the murders.

But as West’s visions of death grow more violent, the only way out for all of them may be straight through the mind of a monster. If they’re not careful, they may forget which side of the hunt they’re on.

Michelle & Reesa

Hi, we’re Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth.  The kind people here have invited us to stop by and tell you a little about our newest book, Peripheral People.  A standalone novel in the Ylendrian Empire series, Peripheral People combines elements of romance, science fiction, paranormal, and crime drama in the intense, galaxy-spanning hunt for a psychic serial killer.  Hot on the trail and hot for each other (in the sense that they’d both prefer to be set on fire than work together), the imperial agents who stumble into the case must evade terrifying mental traps, their own volatile relationship, and the discovery that someone in a higher pay grade may not be so keen on their quest for justice. 

We’re thrilled to be with you today, and we’re looking forward to any questions or comments you might have.

Three Inspiring Writers

Michelle here- I think we all know that every writer starts as (and continues to be!) a rabid reader.  I was really lucky growing up in that books were a huge priority in my family.  Instead of an allowance, I got to pick out a book every week from the oddly-extensive book section at our neighborhood grocery store, and this nicely supplemented the stacks I brought home from both the school library and public library.

To celebrate that author/reader relationship, I’d like to talk about three of the most inspiring authors from my childhood.

Edith Nesbit:  Five Children and It

Early on, I had a thing for British children’s books.  I suspect this had something to do with an import bookstore in Washington, DC that both my parents loved… they’d get to buy the mysteries they loved, and I’d get turned loose in the incredible section devoted to vintage books for kids.  Five Children and It was published in 1902, but I had no trouble identifying with the children and their lives, and truthfully found the historical aspect fascinating.  Toasting bread on a stick over the nursery fire grate, riding in a dog cart, and to this day I remember a line about Lamb “… demanding jam, which was only allowed at tea.”

A cool fact?  The book has never been out of print since its initial publication.  How’s that for longevity?

Robert Arthur, Jr.:  Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators

The first book in the series was published in 1964, so I was a little late to the party in that I didn’t start reading them until first grade, so maybe 1970 or so.  They were book crack to me!  THIS was what I spent my weekly book purchase on.  I could spend the entire hour it took my mom to grocery shop agonizing over which one to buy.  I still own books 1-11… the originals. 

About two years ago, I met John Gregory Betancourt (another awesome author! http://smile.amazon.com/Pit-Pendulum-Collected-Adventures-Geller-ebook/dp/B006JEDZR6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1429920614&sr=8-4&keywords=john+betancourt) at RavenCon, and low and behold, I’d finally run into another person who had read The Three Investigators.  We bonded over this, and both went home happy.

Katherine Kurtz:  The Deryni Series

Pretty sure to this day that my dad didn’t realize the “bookstore” I found my first Katherine Kurtz book in was actually a head store.  Or maybe he did, and just didn’t want to sully my young mind, because I certainly had no clue.  It was a bookstore, and it didn’t have a kids’ section, so I was allowed to pick out something from the adult section.  Now I should admit that I owned Deryni Rising for a year or two before I settled in to really read it through, so I was ten or eleven, I guess.  And once I’d got past the kid excitement of “Wow, look at this tiny print!  And it’s SO long!”, the story hooked and landed me like a fish.  The richness of the prose and the depth of the characters still captivate me to this day.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Kurtz at WorldCon in Boston years ago, and it’s still a highlight of my reading and writing career.

Excerpt

Inspector Corwin Menivie surveyed the wreckage of the victim’s living room with a jaundiced eye. He had his orders, but if the Imperial Enforcement Coalition was going to call in a fly-by team for the death of every imperial counselor’s maiden auntie, they were going to have to run a lot more recruits through the academy.

As he glanced through the front windows, he caught sight of the newest additions to his team, and his eyes narrowed. On second thought, maybe they should raise the standards at the academy before choosing that new crop. From what he could discern, fellow investigators (and he used that term lightly) Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale were outside sniffing the rosebushes. Tavera spotted him through the window, and the bout of waving that followed was extravagant in its enthusiasm. Like almost everything Tavera had done since their first meeting, the expansive gesture set Corwin’s teeth on edge. He swallowed his annoyance and turned back to the misplaced couch and overturned knickknacks. His partner, Inspector Nika Santivan, was checking upstairs for any further signs of a struggle or break-in, and team building be damned, he wished he could find an excuse to join her.

A minute later the front door opened, hitting the wall with a loud thump, and Agent Westley Tavera sailed into the room, followed by his Ground, Agent Gavin Hale. Tavera hovered in the wide doorway, eyes sweeping the room before they settled on Corwin. “Someone had a wild party.”

Corwin took a deep breath, his eyes firmly on the wall to the left of Tavera’s head. “You are aware that a woman died here tonight, aren’t you?”

“Very.” Tavera turned and picked up a picture from the mantle.

“That could be evidence, Tavera.”

“Wearing gloves.” Tavera lifted a hand and wiggled his fingers at Corwin. “It’s not actually my first crime scene, you know.”

“Then treat it with the respect it deserves.” He was going to regret snapping, but not enough to stop him from doing it. “A life ended here. The least you could do is act like that matters, instead of skipping around the yard smelling flowers and invading the privacy of someone’s home.”

“Hey, back off.” Gavin’s folded arms and glare were clear warnings, although his voice was even. “You want to talk about respect, try not picking a fight with a colleague in the middle of the crime scene you’re so worried about.”

“It’s fine, Gav.” Tavera set the picture down and turned to face Corwin, then began ticking off points on his fingers. “First, I’ve got nearly as much field experience as you do. Second, we were trying to get a look at the flower beds surrounding the house to see if anyone had been near the windows. She wouldn’t have stepped on her own flowers, would she? Third, I’m not invading her privacy. She’s dead, in case you hadn’t noticed, and I doubt there’s anyone in the room more qualified to tell you that she is absolutely not here anymore. She has no privacy to invade, and looking at a picture of her isn’t likely to cause her unrest in whatever afterlife she may or may not have believed in.” Clearly wound up, he stepped closer. “And finally, I’m a Reader, and that means sometimes I touch things to find out what happened to their owners. No matter how much you hate us, you can’t be totally ignorant of how it all works, Inspector.”

Corwin’s blood pressure spiked with each digit, and he felt damn near rooted to the ground, inches from Tavera, the tension between them a prickling sensation on both his skin and mind. It didn’t break until Tavera frowned and shrugged.

“Although apparently I’m not a very good Reader, because I’m having a really hard time picking up anything from this room.”

Corwin stepped away under the pretense of scanning the bookshelf, grateful to defuse the moment. There were a few spots of blood, but nothing like the huge pool by the window, where she’d finally died. “It looks like the struggle, such as it was, began here. Maybe the impressions will be stronger in this area?”

He had been around enough Actives to know that hand flapping and squinty eyes were an unnecessary affectation, but he’d expected nothing less from PsyAc’s most infamous Reader. Tavera’s questing mind glanced off Corwin’s defenses, and he pushed back without hesitation.

Tavera went stiff and silent for a moment before turning in place, gaze raking over the room. Corwin turned away and began rifling through a stack of invitations and letters on the desk with more force than the task required. Light footsteps across the carpet gave ample warning before Tavera invaded even that small corner of sanity.

“I can’t get anything here.” Tavera said, too close by Corwin’s estimation, but there wasn’t a way to gracefully escape. “It’s like the entire room is full of white noise, and I can’t read anything from the objects in it. I need to see the body to give you anything useful.”

The same tentative brush of inquiry hit his walls, and Corwin responded with sarcasm verging on outright hostility. “Well, that will surely prove to be an invaluable addition to the case file. Thank the stars you were here to offer the insight of the Imperial Psionics Academy.”

“I’m sure it will be easy to slip into your report, Inspector. ‘She died of blood loss. The end.’ Did I piss in your porridge this morning, or did you forget to have a wank last night?” West’s expression betrayed none of the venom clinging to the quiet words. Corwin, who knew full well that he looked perpetually annoyed, almost envied someone who could convey their dislike with laughter.

“Fine. We’ll go to the morgue next. Try to refrain from turning the rest of my crime scene into some poor attempt at a joke.” He spun on his heel and marched toward the stairs, intent on finding Nika, and any measure of calm left to him.

* * *

West glared at Gavin’s hand on his elbow as they descended the stairs into the morgue. When they reached the bottom, he moved aside so Corwin and Nika could pass. Nika stopped to give them a questioning look, but Gavin offered her the quick balm of a smile, and she headed toward the coroner’s office at the back of the hallway, leaving them alone.

“West, what the hell?” Gavin’s voice was quiet enough not to carry, but still demanded West’s attention. “Corwin already thinks you’re a screwup. Why are you swanning around a crime scene like you’re an actor in a third-rate vid?”

He shrugged, his eyes drifting to the office door. “Corwin hated me for what I could do before he ever met me, so I don’t give a shit what he thinks about me now.”

“Well, I can see how pissing him off during a case will totally fix that.” Gavin jerked his head in the direction of the office. “Can we go do our jobs without the dramatic flair this time?”

“Anything to make you happy, oh friend of friends. Do I get to point out that you’re the one who stopped for this lovely little interlude?” West sauntered into the morgue, and got maybe five steps past the door before the blast hit him. There was nothing showy about the way he missed a step and nearly tripped over his own feet. Gavin caught him, and the familiar buffer of his Ground eased the screaming in his head, providing enough of a barrier that he could take a deep breath and shield himself against the maelstrom. He walked unerringly to the morgue drawer, and pressed his hands flat against the cold steel front.

“She couldn’t get away.” His eyes fluttered shut, and he let himself fall into the vision. She tried, and she ran, but it was all inside, and there was no outside, and it kept hurting her, even when she ran, it hurt her and hurt her and the sky was made of claws, and fuck—

He dragged himself out of it, Gavin’s hand on the back of his neck an anchor as he tried to hang on to the world around him in the face of the dead woman’s distress. It wasn’t even her, just the psychic undertow left behind in the wake of her death, but it was so strong . . .

“Come on,” Gavin was saying, over and over, and the familiar repetition helped as he fell back into himself, feeling the tears on his cheeks like raw shame, even though they weren’t really his at all. “Come home, come home, it’s okay.”

West was down, knees up to his face as he pressed into the corner, and if he hadn’t spent the last twenty years dealing with moments like this, he might have been embarrassed over the worried and slightly pitying look he was getting from Nika. The vision had clearly gone on for longer than he’d been aware of, and in the meantime Corwin, Nika, and several morgue employees had gathered around, all staring at him with varying degrees of concern. Corwin hadn’t even been in the room when they’d walked through the door, so the commotion must have been enough to attract everyone’s attention.

“Do you need anything?” One of the morgue employees came closer, and West did his best to push up a shield before he could see too much.

“Don’t,” he begged, grateful when Gavin jumped in to explain.

“Agent Tavera needs a moment to get his mental barriers in place again,” Gavin said. “He’ll be clear in a minute, but until then, he’s going to catch anything particularly strong from the people around him. You might want to give us a little while, unless you want to be accidentally Read.”

West got back to his feet, using Gavin’s hand as leverage, and found his smile somewhere as he brushed off his clothing. He could flake out in a minute, but he wanted an answer now, while her pain was still fresh. Trying to play down his reaction seemed silly after the floorshow he’d just given everyone, but he struggled to keep his voice even nonetheless. “So, could someone fill me in on this woman? Please?”

“She’s not our case.” Corwin’s comment seemed mild, particularly since their last conversation had ended in him stomping off. Then again, Corwin had never made any effort to hide the fact that he resented having a psy team on his precious ship, so he was probably getting a kick out of West’s apparent lack of control.

“Yes, well, she should be.” Though West didn’t remember looking up at the ceiling, he tried to force his focus away from mapping the gridwork, but only managed to switch his attention to the floor. There were four tiles under Corwin’s shoes, three under Nika’s, and fourteen between them. Corwin was saying something else, but West got lost halfway between Corwin’s blue eyes and the matching sliver of sky visible through the window just behind his head.

“Our victim is over here.” Corwin’s tone implied he was repeating himself, though West had been staring at his mouth and hadn’t heard him.

“Give him a minute,” Gavin said again, a protective arm wrapped around West’s shoulders. “If it’s a strong vision, he doesn’t come back right away.”

“It’s okay.” West wiped his cheeks with the heel of his hand. “I promise. Wasn’t expecting that. Show me the victim we’re actually here for.”

Corwin nodded slowly, eyes not leaving West for several long seconds. “Why don’t you take a breather? I don’t think our victim is going anywhere.”

West took the unexpected reprieve, centering himself in the quiet space Gavin provided, and working to filter out the other people around them. Yes, he could tell the two night-shift techs were sleeping together, but it was a violation of the PsyAc ethics code to mention it. Nika was focused on the case, with a side dish of appreciation for the way Gavin looked in uniform pants, and that should have been easy enough to ignore. Better to ignore, kinder, safer, all of it, but it wasn’t anything he had a choice about at the moment.

He hated that everyone wanted a piece of his head, except Gavin, and apparently Corwin. His discovery that the inspector was a null had been welcome, and one of the few things that made being around the man tolerable. It was hard to put into words, but Corwin felt nothing at all like Gavin’s soft cotton-wool blankness. More like a screen before a vid started, or those blue projection walls they used for the news background. Maybe that was the difference between a null who’d trained to be a Ground and one who hadn’t—who just felt like a blank spot in the world to a Reader. Corwin was a solid wall of not-there, and when West tried to investigate, he found himself blocked by Gavin and Corwin.

He realized that he’d gotten lost again when Corwin raised an eyebrow, meeting his gaze head on. “I can assure you I didn’t kill Ms. Evanston.”

“Huh?” Probably not the best rejoinder, but it was the first one that came to mind.

Corwin actually cracked a small, easily disregarded smile; if West hadn’t been looking, he would’ve missed it. Corwin made a vague gesture between them, offering another moment of reprieve in their battle of wills. “The way you were staring. I figured either I had something on my shirt, or you thought I killed her. Neither is true, by the way.”

“So you say, Inspector.” West managed a grin of his own, and next to him, Gavin relaxed. “I think you’re functioning as another Ground at the moment. Maybe that’s what happened back at the house, too. If you’ll step back, I’ll see what I can get.”

Corwin looked chagrined, but did as he was asked, and the fuzzed-out feeling faded. “I didn’t realize that I had such an effect on you, Agent Tavera. I’ll be sure to keep my distance.”

There was too much to choose from, too many ways to take the words, and West wasn’t up to it yet. “Just while I’m working.” He wondered if he’d always find himself at a disadvantage with Corwin.

The screech of the metal drawer sliding open called his attention back to the task at hand, and he watched as the body came into view feetfirst. Though her impression was clearly less volatile, he was already bracing himself. The overwhelming feeling this time was disbelief, rather than the fear and pain that had floored him, literally, moments earlier. He leaned over, elbows resting on the edge of the table as his mouth worked over soundless words, and let the Read come to him, rather than seeking it out. He could see her as she tried to reach the comm station on the table near the window, and though his feet twitched, he was able to maintain enough control of himself not to follow her movements and flail around the lab.

“She tripped over her rug and fell on the letter opener.” Attention elsewhere, his voice was monotone. “Got to the window, pulled it out, like a stopper in a wine bottle, pop, and then blood everywhere.” Maybe it was the accidental nature of Ms. Evanston’s death, or the sharp contrast between her bewildered displeasure and the frantic terror of the Read he’d stumbled into before hers, but coming up for air was easier this time. He still felt spacey, but that was the nature of the beast.

He glanced briefly at Nika and Corwin, and rubbed a hand across his eyes. “It was just an accident.”

Nika confirmed his impressions with a brisk nod. “That fits with the total lack of evidence that anyone else had been in the house recently. Nothing obviously stolen, no forced entry, and Gavin was telling me that the perimeter of the house was undisturbed as well.”

“Then it sounds like once the coroner has finished their report, we can file this one.” Corwin’s eyebrows twitched, and he inclined his head. “Good work, agents, Inspector.”

Nika hid her smile quickly, but her eyes sparkled nevertheless, and Gavin looked pleased as well. West didn’t really need the praise, but he wasn’t going to deny that it was a nice gesture, and one he hadn’t expected from Corwin. “Thanks.”

Corwin went to talk to the coroner about getting the final report done, and Nika pulled out her notebook to start the reports for the case. Gavin was messing around with a squishy stress toy that had been left on the corner of a lab table.

West stopped one of the morgue employees as he came back in from the smoke break he wasn’t supposed to have taken. The smell alone would have alerted West, even if the guilty cry of the man’s thoughts hadn’t given him away.

“Can you tell me about the woman in drawer sixteen?” He tried not to get too caught up in the memory of the first puff, the delicate burn of smoke and spice made illicit by its proximity to the hospital, as he flashed a smile he knew was falling on a totally uninterested audience. The last thing he needed was a craving he refused to satisfy; he’d tried riskier things for less enticing reasons.

“Brought in yesterday morning. Someone found her in a park nearby, dead under a bench. At first we thought it was heart failure, but her heart’s fine, and she’s completely healthy.”

“Except for being dead.”

He got an owlish blink in return for his dry remark. “Well, yeah, except for that. Basic tox screens don’t show anything, so we’re running a more advanced one, but she’s got no identification, and nobody seems to be missing her yet. She’s not top priority.”

He’d been in law enforcement too long to be bothered by simple statements of procedural fact anymore. Someone would try to figure out what had left her on a slab, but she was going to fall by the wayside as more pressing cases came in. West glanced at the drawer, contemplating lowering his shields enough to try the Read again. Gavin would kill him if he didn’t anchor first, and it wasn’t their case, but the sense-memory of her pain tugged at him. It always cost him more not to use his gift, and now was no exception.

He reluctantly pushed it back, headed for Gavin, and Grounded out with a brief touch. Like a junkie’s fix, it was just enough to wipe it all away again. “Hey. Want to get out of here?”

Gavin stopped his subtle surveillance of Nika long enough to give him an assessing look, and then nodded. “You bet. Where are we headed?”

“I saw a grocery store a few blocks away on the ride over, and it’s my night to cook. I thought maybe I’d grab something so we could celebrate another successful case.”

“I demand ice cream.” Not a request, but it wasn’t like he’d ever say no to such a basic dietary requirement.

“Sure you don’t want to ask Nika?” He was teasing, sort of, but Gavin smacked the back of his head, and West ducked away, laughing.

“Rule Number Two. And no. We’re not ready for ice cream.” Gavin looked serious, as though chocolate sprinkles were something he only ate after a third date.

“Whatever, dude. You’ll be settled down and raising waffle cones one of these days.”

Gavin shook his head, faking an expression of pity. “It’s sad to me, how weird you are. I really feel for you.”

“No sprinkles for you.” West poked the tip of Gavin’s nose, his tone arch. Gavin scowled, eyes crossing, and West smiled at Nika as she came up behind him. “We’re going to do a grocery run, then head back to the ship so I can make dinner. Is that okay? Did you need me for anything else?”

“Just your reports.” Her gaze darted down, then back up again, obviously trying very hard not to look at the way West was touching Gavin. Or maybe she was looking at the ugly pink scar that ran the length of Gavin’s forearm. Out of respect for her privacy, and a healthy dose of trepidation about possible Rule Two violations, he wrapped his fingers around Gavin’s wrist, keeping the pleasant blankness between his mind and hers.

“I can do mine before I start dinner.” He already knew she wasn’t a stickler for immediate generation of paperwork, and he had every intention of creating a meal that would hopefully serve as a bit of a bribe. If he could soften up Nika and Corwin with food, there was a chance they’d forgive him for trying to get clearance to do another Read on the woman in the morgue.

“Sure, that’s fine. Corwin will probably be happy to trade a few hours of paperwork lag for food that doesn’t taste like the inside of a plastic pouch.”

She glanced around for her erstwhile partner, and West noticed that some of her golden-brown hair had come loose from the clip at the back of her neck. Gavin had noticed as well, if his blatant staring counted, and West hid a smirk.

Satisfied that Corwin wasn’t within earshot, Nika continued. “He has kind of a sweet tooth, if you’re in the market to suck up.”

“I prefer to think of it as making a friend through the application of baked goods.”

“What about you? What can we bribe you with?” Gavin’s question didn’t even approach subtle. If subtle had taken out an ad on the nightly news stream announcing its intention to blow up a star, it would still have been less painfully obvious than Gavin.

“Oh, I already like you. Wait to bribe me until you’ve pissed me off.” She raised an eyebrow at Gavin, quiet humor lurking in her expression, and West could see where maybe someone could get a little hung up on the crinkles at the corners of her eyes.

“I’ll keep something suitable in reserve. For West, I mean. I plan to stay in your good graces, if I can.” Gavin looked way too pleased with the smile she gave them in return, and West coughed to cover his laughter.

For more excerpt click here: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/peripheral-people (just click the excerpt tab.

The Ylendrian Empire universe is a series of loosely-connected space operas written by Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth.

Fast-paced heists, gritty paranormal mysteries, rescue missions in far-flung exotic jungles . . . the character-driven adventures and romances of the Ylendrian Empire are a chance to explore a new set of stars, with just enough spice to keep you wanting more.

Currently available:

Find out more about the Ylendrian Empire at http://ylendrianempire.com.

About Reesa & Michelle

Michelle Moore has a well-documented obsession with travel, television, frappuccinos and flamingos. These, however, come in a distant second to her love of writing. Most evenings she can be found huddled over her laptop at the local Starbucks, dividing her time between actually writing and pretending to be a barista.

Reesa Herberth was born in Nevada and spirited away to California before moving to Hawaii, where she grew up on the Big Island.  She tried Arizona for a few years, then lit out for the D.C. area, where her nomadic itch is regularly curbed by the nightmares of urban traffic.  She’s held a handful of the requisite crazy writer jobs, including book store overlord, office goddess for an artisan ice cream maker, and cheese-cup scrubber at an organic goat dairy. 

Michelle and Reesa have been writing together for over fifteen years.  They are currently working on more Ylendrian stories, and a petition to have cat hair recognized as a form of currency.

Giveaway!

Peripheral People Prize Pack: includes a book-themed soft cooler, a handful of recommended reads, and the winner’s choice of a title from Michelle and Reesa’s backlist.

Reesa Herberth & Michelle Moore Rafflecopter giveaway!

Review

Title: Peripheral People

Series: A Ylendrian Empire Novel

Author: Reesa Herberth & Michelle Moore

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Suspense, Thriller

Length: Super Novel (414pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-62649-268-4

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (11^th May 2015)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Corwin Menivie and Nika Santivan are decorated veterans of the Imperial Enforcement Coalition, and are perfectly capable of solving cases the old-fashioned way. When they’re paired with Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale, the most powerful Reader/Ground team to emerge from the Psionics Academy, it could either be the best thing that’s ever happened to crime fighting, or the makings of a quadruple homicide.

During a routine investigation, West’s talent puts them on the trail of a brutal serial killer who traps his prey in a deadly mental playground. Then the killer starts baiting the team, laying psychic landmines at crime scenes and exposing IEC secrets. The strain of the case binds the agents closer together—so close that Nika and Gavin start sharing a room, and even the curmudgeonly Corwin finds himself as occupied with West as he is with the murders.

But as West’s visions of death grow more violent, the only way out for all of them may be straight through the mind of a monster. If they’re not careful, they may forget which side of the hunt they’re on.

Purchase Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/peripheral-people

Review: This story is part of a series in the Ylendrian Empire Universe but can be read as a stand-alone. Corwin is far from happy when he and his partner Nika are paired with West and Gavin, a powerful psychic and his grounder, Corwin has nothing against psychic’s but he doesn’t want one in his head or discovering the secret he has hidden for so long. When they are investigating a death West’s talent accidentally picks up on the trail of a brutal serial killer, a serial killer who uses minds as his playground, a serial killer who begins to lay deadly traps for West. As Nika and Gavin embark on a scorching relationship West and Corwin are drawn together, the strain of chasing a killer who leaves no physical evidence binds them together and Corwin’s secret is revealed. West and Corwin’s connection might be the only thing that helps them survive as they go head to head with a killer whose mind is bent on revenge.

Peripheral People is a very interesting sci-fi, thriller, mystery story that draws you in from the first chapter. Corwin is an Inspector in the Imperial Enforcement Coalition fly-by team, investigating crimes across the Imperial Coalition, Corwin and his partner Nika investigate the old fashioned way and are one of the highest rated teams. When Corwin and Nika are paired with a powerful Reader/Grounder team it throws Corwin into turmoil as he has a secret that he never wants to get out. West is a very powerful psychic, Gavin keeps him grounded and pulls him out of his visions and keeps him ‘safe’ from being overpowered by the thoughts of those around him, but it makes for a very lonely life when he can’t get close to someone for fear of their thoughts.

The storyline is absolutely brilliant, having a killer psychic who is playing dangerous games with people’s minds, who taunts the IEC inspectors and lay’s mind-traps for their psychic’s is just so juicy and delicious nasty. The world building is incredible, you get a clear picture of the surroundings and the situation as it unfolds. We are drawn into some of West psychic’s visions; they are perfectly described letting you have a unique view into what West experiences. The relationship between Corwin and West is troubled and rocky, even as they embark on a physical relationship, trust is hard won and feelings between them are tentative. We meet some very disturbing characters as they hunt for the killer and we see some gore and horror as West delves into some very disturbed visions. 

As we get to know the characters we get to know a bit about their background and both Corwin and West have experiences in the past that have left deep scars, while this story is about hunting for the killer it is also about both these men beginning to heal from the past. While I really enjoyed the story it felt dragged out in some places, and I can’t even explain why, I mean there wasn’t too much information being shared and the story never lagged and the characters were always interesting but it just felt dragged out.   

I recommend this to those who love sci-fi, hunting killers, mystery, great characters, a dash of hot sex, a brilliant storyline and a happy for now ending. 

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