Book Review: Made for Sin by Stacia Kane

Made for Sin is the first book in a new series by Stacia Kane. A lot of bad hands get dealt in Vegas, but E. L. Speare may be holding one of the worst: He’s cursed with the need to commit sins, and if he misses his daily quota, there’s hell to pay, quite literally. Fortunately, his hometown affords him plenty of chances to behave badly. But Speare’s newest case really has him going out on a limb. The right-hand man of a notorious crime boss has been found dead in a Dumpster—minus his right hand, not to mention the rest of his arm. What catches Speare’s attention, however, is that the missing appendage was severed clean by a demon-sword, a frighteningly powerful tool of the underworld. Speare’s out of his element, so he turns to a specialist: Ardeth Coyle, master thief, dealer in occult artifacts, and bona fide temptress. Ardeth’s hotter than a Las Vegas sidewalk on the Fourth of July, but she’s one sin Speare has to resist. The dismembered corpses are piling up, unimaginable evil lurks in the shadows, and if this odd couple hopes to beat the odds, Speare needs to keep his hands off Ardeth, and his head in the game. 

Made for Sin is a solid start to an urban fantasy series. E.L. Spears is a man of two minds, the second is a demon that lives in his head and takes over his body if he does not feed him enough sin and anguish. He did not count on his best source of information top solve a gruesome murder being a woman that he would be so attracted to, and enjoy verbally sparring with. Ardith is a thief, and his best shot at finding answers. However, now they are both in danger and more murders are making this even more problematic- as is their attraction. I like how pragmatic both characters are, and how they seem to take everything in stride. I feel like Kane has laid some of the groundwork for this series in other books, but the world building is pretty good here. I think it started a little slowly for me as I tried to figure out all the connections and details, but by the end of the book I had  reasonable grasp of the larger world. I am interested to see what happens next, but because of the characters rather than that world building. 

Made for Sin is a fast paced book with a little bit of everything. I like that there is mystery, fantasy, suspense, and a dash of romance tossed in there. While the romance occasionally becomes the main part of the story, the paranormal and suspense factors quickly take back over.