What struck me most about this book was the angle of looking at celebrity and heroism.

This allows for the plot and action to take center stage, and for the characters to be more complimentary. The way characters are painted allows for broad strokes, providing only the most necessary and relevant information first, then going in with finer detail later. Characteristics are dropped in during moments of suspense, without much staging, allowing for a roundness that I don’t usually see unless I am 5 books into a series. Winter has the ability to profoundly flesh out a character without dropping information. And while it is revealed that Nyah knew all along that she was indeed a tracker, the sharp tongues and wit between the two sets the stage for further relational development. Lena, who poses as a writer so as not to immediately give herself away, begins to interrogate Nyah. What works more than anything in this story, is the tension between Shattergirl (who goes by Nyah once she warms up a bit) and Lena.

She instead, comes out in front of the pacing issues, and after setting up the world with only as much detail as the reader would need, makes sure that a quarter of the way in, we’re at the tension of the story. Winter, however, is far too deft of a writer to do that to us.

What this often leads to is a pacing issue, where the action of the story is backloaded, leading to a tedious start, an arduous middle, and frequently an unsatisfying ending. The tension of the book is contingent on finding the mystery character. Often, when reading a book where one character must find another, the author labors under building up the mystery character, with the detective character spending chapter after chapter following false leads, missing connections. I expected that this book would take much longer to get to the point. From this premise, we follow Lena to Socotra, otherwise known as the Island of Bliss, to track the missing superhero and figure out how to bring her in. Lena Martin, an alien tracker, is tasked with finding Shattergirl and figuring out where she’s been for the last 18 months. Shattered leans into Shattergirl, a first-generation alien/superhero who has gone off the grid. This review does contain minor spoilers, but more in regards to craft than content. Her book, The Red Files, about a May-December relationship between two journalists on the case was an engaging read, and I expected nothing less from this book. I’ve been looking forward to reviewing another book by Lee Winter for a while.

The Red Files by Lee Winter