Review - Seeing Death by L.M. Somerton
Bryn’s life is changed forever when he turns 18 and a latent gene activates, turning him into an augur, the rarest of mutations that allows Bryn to see someone’s memories or if they’re telling the truth with just a touch. It makes him indispensable to law enforcement and a target of the killers and mob bosses he helps find. On completing his training, Bryn is partnered with Gunnar, an experienced police detective who is also lupine. Together they track down serial killers as well as missing kids. All the while, the two grow closer together emotionally.
“Seeing Death” is a contemporary speculative fantasy based on the idea that a virus activates a genetic mutation in some humans, typically turning them into people with some traits of the legendary werewolves or vampires. Bryn’s powers are the rarest of them all, and he is the strongest augur known. It’s obvious where the relationship between Bryn and Gunnar is headed from the moment they meet, but it’s a very slow burn story. It takes a long time for them to openly admit to the feelings they both know they share.
We meet Bryn first in the prologue, which gives us quite a bit of his backstory. It’s hard not to empathize with a young man headed to Harvard who finds out a genetic quirk is going to change his life in a very unpleasant way. After the prologue, the main story jumps ahead three years, to when Bryn meets his new partner Gunnar after completing his training. It takes time and a lot of prodding from Gunnar for Bryn to relate some of the traumatic things that were done to him as part of his training.
The book suggests an interesting take on folklore: It proposes that werewolf and vampire legends are based on real events in the past, when viruses caused genetic mutations to emerge, giving some humans special traits, which got exaggerated over time. Gunnar isn’t a shape-shifter, but he is stronger that most humans with an enhanced sense of smell. His protective instincts regarding Bryn are quick to develop as well. The two make perfect partners, and they seem to have a complementary kinkiness which is only implied in the story. We’ll have to see how that develops in future books.
The episodic nature of the story-telling along with the snarky humor made this a real page-turner. I’m looking forward to the second book of the series.
“Seeing Death” is available from independent booksellers through Bookshop.org.
