Review: Deadeye by William C. Dietz (Mutant Files #1)

Deadeye (Mutant Files #1)
William C. Dietz
Published: Jan. 27, 2015 (Ace)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Jill

Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars

Cassandra Lee is a hardball detective on the LAPD. It’s not the LAPD that you’re thinking of, though. This LAPD is set in 2060, and their biggest concern is the mutants from the Republic of Texas getting through their boarders and reeking havoc. About 30 years ago, an act of bioterrorism caused a catastrophic bacterial plague to ravage the planet. Most people died after suffering horrendous pain. Some people survived, but were physically altered in terrible ways: a deformed limb, an extra eye, reptilian-like scales, metal horns, etc. Civilization dissolved, and never really reformed.

A group of criminal mutants have kidnapped the daughter of a highly influential man and taken her into the Republic of Texas to act as a surrogate mother to help create “norm” babies. Enter Ras Omo. Lee and mutant partner Ras Omo travel to the Republic of Texas to help find the girl, but instead they come across a huge master organization of human trafficking, bribery, and drug trade.

Lee is stubborn and refuses to give up searching for this girl no matter how many times her life is put on the line for investigation. Omo is a perfect guy, and the two are inevitably attracted to one another. The only problem: Lee is a norm, and Omo is a mutant. They can’t even kiss or eat in front of one another without risking Lee’s life. This is an interesting dynamic, but instead of it being portrayed as a forbidden thrill, it reads as slightly cold. I can’t tell yet if Lee and Omo coupling is a good thing or not. I want them to work, but I think that there’s too much between them and not enough chemistry.

I absolutely loved this world. It was really original and engaging. The world felt large and tangible. There was a history to the governments of this world that felt like it would be expanded on more in the coming books. There definitely seem to be plot points that are leading to a clash of governments that Lee and Omo might get thrown in the middle of. The infection and the second-class citizen status of the mutants causes a lot of social tension that feels like it will explode at any moment.

The action in Deadeye is fantastic. The story draws you in quickly and never stops. Even the ending is a huge cliffhanger. The biggest problem I had with this book is that the characters seem very distant. It’s hard to really connect with either Lee or Omo, as their emotions are never really discussed. Therefore, the book is very plot driven. There was also a lot of ‘cop speak,’ which is great because that what the characters are, but it totally lost me at some parts. I still really enjoyed the world, the action, and the characters, I just wanted more emotion from the characters.

The moment the second book comes out, I will be getting it. There’s a huge sub-plot that I can’t get into here because of spoilers, but throughout this book there’s a lot of foreshadowing about the future and where Lee will have to go in the next books. I can’t wait!

Sexual content: sex