Review: Under the Final Moon by Hannah Jayne (Underworld Detection Agency #6)

Under the Final Moon (Underworld Detection Agency #6)
Hannah Jayne
Published: August 5, 2014 (Kensington)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 2.5 stars

Note: This review will be spoiler free, but may reference previous books in the series. If you haven’t started yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Under Wraps.

Being the Vessel of Souls, Sophie Lawson has become used to having her life threatened on an almost daily basis. Being the only “breather” working for the Underworld Detection Agency, she’s also used to seeing her fair share of murder and mayhem. She’s decided to take a more Zen-like attitude. She doing pretty good, until inexplicable acts of arson nearly break her Zen resolve. Despite the ominous feelings in the air, Sophie is willing to chalk it up to coincidence.

However, when one victim is carrying Sophie’s business card and his last words are “find her,” there’s little to no denying that something big is coming. Things get even more complicated when Sophie’s estranged father is thrown into the mix as the possible culprit behind all the strange occurrences.

Under the Final Moon went by in a kind of blur. It was still filled with the quirky and humorous characters synonymous to the series, but I found it also littered with, what I felt were, random short scenes that ended abruptly and didn’t lead to anywhere in the end. Because of this, many of the plotlines that grasped my attention were not given their due. This was especially true of scenes with Sophie’s father as well as the climax of the book. I would have loved for these areas to be expanded upon, but they ended up starting and being resolved in a couple pages at most. By the time Sophie decided to get serious about everything happening, more than half the book had already flown by.

I’m a pretty big fan of a witty, somewhat scatterbrained heroine. Sophie has these qualities in spades. She’s always getting into some crazy situation and somehow stumbling her way out again, but this time these things were a bit overwhelming. There’s a nice balance that must be observed, however, because despite being a little crazy, our heroines are also smart and capable. Sophie has gotten through a lot in the series so we know she’s capable, but when there’s too much craziness going on around her and when every other page she seems to be breaking out into tears, it’s very easy to forget how capable she is.

Under the Final Moon wraps things up in the series. Although for all the looking I did, I couldn’t find a definite ‘yes this is the final book’ quote anywhere. The end is definitely the end of the story arc. The issue with the Vessel of Souls is seemingly solved, although again not coherently, and Sophie must finally make her decision between Guardian Will and Fallen Angel Alex. I’ve really enjoyed watching Sophie go back and forth between these two hot guys with her feelings. I have my pick, but I honestly couldn’t say whom Sophie would choose. It seems as though Hannah Jayne felt the same way because when it comes down to it, and without giving anything away, I felt like Sophie was given an easy out.

I hate that I feel unfavorably about this book, but I think that’s because I was so surprised at the way it was executed. I would say if you’ve read the series up to this point, read Under the Final Moon, get the closure, although be prepared to possibly be unsatisfied.

Sexual content: References to sex