Night Child by Jes Battis

Tess Corday is a Level-One OSI in the Vancouver Mystical Crime Lab, an organization so secret that no one outside the organization knows they exist. But even though Tess is in her 20's, most of her schoolmates have shot past her in the job, because she doesn't aspire to be anything more than an OSI-1. She doesn't want to be stuck behind a desk, but as she gets older, she gets less powerful, but sneakier.

Called out onto a case in the middle of the night, she finds a dead vampire with no wounds on him lying dead in an alley. He shouldn't be dead, but he is. The only clue on his body is a note written in vampire script, which, when deciphered, turns out to be the address of a girl named Mia Polanski and her aunt and Guardian, Cassandra. She questions them about the vampire, but becomes aware that while Mia is fully human, her aunt is a Demon, and quite a powerful one at that. Why a demon would protect a young woman, she has no idea, but Tess wants to rip Mia from her aunt's arms and protect her herself, for Mia reminds Tess of a girl named Eve, who Tess dreams of amidst fire almost every night.

Tess, stil investigating the dead vampire, is warned by her boss Marcus that if she doesn't follow the rules on this case, she is going to lose her job, since she's screwed up too many times before. He sends her to make contact with a necromancer, the man who is the liason with the vampires. Lucian is nothing like what a necromancer should be: handsome, and alive and charming. Nevertheless, Tess is terrified of him and his power. He is with her when she questions the dead vamp's mistress and maker, Sabine, and afterwards, lends her some insight into the nature of vampire society.

Tess continues to investigate, and while she continues to dream of Eve and fire, she also finds Lucian invading her dreams, dreams that are disturbingly erotic and draw him to her apartment. He's everything terrifying and forbidden, and she finds herself drawn to him as she hasn't been to anyone in a long time. But when Mia's aunt is killed and it is revealed that Mia is a vampire somehow gone dormant, it is up to Tess to protect her from both demons wanting to kill her and forces in vampire politics who would love to do the same. But when Tess is blindsided by a traitor in OSI, can she go the extra mile to solve the case and keep Mia alive from those who would kill her?

I liked this book. Tess could come off as just another supernatural action girl, but she's intriguingly damaged, and I liked the world-building in this novel. While vampires as a kind of demon is nothing new, I liked that some demons were sympathetic and the idea of a supernatural CSI. Also, the book is set in Vancouver, which was another unusual choice, as many books are set in the far larger cities of New York, SF, LA or Miami. It was very nice to see, so to speak, some new scenery.

I also loved how Tess was a child of the 80's. I turned 13 in 1980 myself, so remembered all the cultural stuff referenced in the books. Jon Cryer, Pretty in Pink, 80's punk, and so on, and it was like reliving a slice of my past all over again. Tess, while being fairly kick-ass, also feels appropriately afraid in the face of danger, making her realistic. And even if Tess has a reputation as a screw-up, she brings the conclusion home in spades and shows herself to be smart and savvy enough to force the conspirators in the crime apart.

I'd recommend the book, although I'd also like to add that the author is male, when I'd mistakenly assumed female from the name. Surprising author, good book.