Review: Outbreak by Melissa F. Olson (Nightshades #3)

Outbreak (Nightshades #3)
Melissa F Olson
Published: June 5, 2018 (Tor)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Margaret

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

Note: While review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books in the series. If you haven’t started yet, check out VBC’s review of Nightshades.

Outbreak overlaps with the end of the previous Nightshades book Switchback, and revisits the same events from a different point of view. Lindy and the Chicago BPI pod are being blamed for the shade jailbreak, which is covered in more detail. The whole team is suspended and a SWAT team is sent to bring Lindy in. But Alex and Lindy escape and go on the run, planning to take down the real villain, Hector, on their own.

I love Alex and Lindy together and was happy to get more of them in this book. That means we don’t see quite as much of the other team members’ POVs though. But I loved what I saw of Noelle, the FBI tech nerd who builds the team’s anti-vampire weapons. She’s the grown up, gay, Asian Shuri I didn’t know I needed! A certain bad girl behaved exactly like I thought she would, but I liked her anyway.

I also loved that we finally learn about Lindy’s past, as well as the history of the shades going back to the plague. This installment also shows us everything these shades can do with lots of behind the scenes machinations and an action-packed final battle. I really enjoyed this one!

The story arc that began with Nightshades is pretty much wrapped up in Outbreak, so this would be a satisfying end to the series. I hope it’s not though. I would love to see Alex and Lindy and the rest of this team take on more cases. The paranormal police procedural was what hooked me on urban fantasy years ago, and I feel like I don’t see enough of them lately. Melissa F. Olson’s series has definitely filled that void for me. And it does it in bite-sized novellas perfect for a quick fix or a serial binge.

Sexual content: kissing