Book Review: The Merging by John P Logsdon (LVPPD #1)

Ian Dex is the captain of the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department (PPD), the crew responsible for kicking the crap out of any supernatural stupid enough to mess with the Strip. He's a cop, a millionaire, an amalgamite, and a horndog. Sin City is always running amok with disturbances and glitter, but sometimes those two items merge and the nightlife gets out of hand. Kind of like mixing Hell and...well, more Hell.

When an ubermage appears on the Strip, strutting around in his Chippendales-style outfit and sending out other ubernaturals to kick up dust and unleash destruction, it's up to Ian Dex and his team to do what they do best: bust heads and shred souls. Casinos are clamoring for help, cops are fighting tooth and nail just to survive, and tourists think it's all part of the Vegas experience. The weather forecast for tonight on the Strip is dark. Very damn dark...and bloody.

My Review:
I had read two short stories which were prequels to this series-The Bleeding, which I really enjoyed and The Chief, which was too full of sex references for my liking. I was unsure whether or not to continue and read the first book but based on The Bleeding I wanted to at least give the series a fair try.

Ian Dex is the chief of the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department. He and his colleagues are genetically enhanced as part of their training, which leaves them with a higher than normal sex drive. Ian is also a DNA mix of all the major paranormal creatures which gives him enhanced strength, speed, healing and a little magic but he is not immortal. He is a bit of a smart arse, says inappropriate things, spends his time chatting up women but he is at least interesting. I have doubts about him being chosen as leader as he is very impatient and not the sharpest tool in the box-a strange mix for the Chief.

Ian's city is seriously under threat. Mutated vampires, werewolves and fae are rampaging through the streets causing death and destruction and even the enhanced abilities of the team are barely enough to stop them. Ian's team work out that a powerful magic user is possessing human bodies with a hybrid of a summoned demon mixed with either a vampire, werewolf or fae, giving them extra strength and size. Ian and his friends try to stop both the puppetmaster and his creations before they take over the city, but do they have the combined power to do it?   

My random irritations. The women in the book come across as sex obsessed airheads and for Rachel to be jealous of the female AI's flirty conversations with Ian is so dumb when she is about the only female thing that Ian hasn't been with. The fact that she has slept with various male and female colleagues as well as Ian makes her jealousy childish in the extreme. In fact I'm amazed that the whole department find any time to solve crimes with all the bedhopping that is discussed. So far, there has been no actual sex scenes in the series, just constant talk about it. There are also childish farting jokes. And I grind my teeth at the way Lydia talks to Ian, calling him things like puddin and babycakes. Ugh, so annoying. She is a bloody AI without the intelligence it seems.

The good things are the writing style which flows nicely. The story is well put together and I find the details of Ian's powers interesting. The characters have the potential to be interesting if they would act like adults instead of all the bickering and innuendo. I also love the cover art, which is what attracted me to the books in the first place. There are multiple series set in this world and I have the first one of each series to try. Based on the writing, I'll be giving each one a try as they all sound interesting. I am hoping that the characters in each book aren't as oversexed as this series. Am I going to read on with Ian Dex? I really don't know if I can put up with the innuendo and bickering for a whole series. At the moment the plan is to leave it and consider it again in the future.   

Read February 2020
3 star.