Alone: The Girl in the Box #1 by Robert J. Crane

In 2012 this was a venture into a completely new genre for Crane and I have to say that his path from Epic Fantasy into the supernatural  Urban Fantasy world is very good.

Not one iota reminds the reader of where the author has once trodden upon the paths of trolls and magicians.

Often it is hard to leap from a genre one is comfortable in. Instead it is as if he was never anywhere other than in the mind of this meta human girl.

A young hybrid with extraordinary skills and unknown dimensions of abilities yet to be discovered. She has been kept hidden away in a house, by her mother, for her entire existence.

One day her mother doesn't return home and she is introduced to a world of unimaginable monsters and people who want to treat her like a guinea pig.

The story is fast paced and gritty with a balanced proportion of Sci-Fi and supernatural, without the usual suspects one tends to finds in books of this genre.

I found it engrossing, perhaps because the main character wasn't your typical little girl please feel sorry for me type. Instead she was tough with a smart-alec attitude, but still managed to act with the carelessness of an inexperienced youth.

I thought the end was brilliant, so much so that it made a shiver run down the back of my neck. I look forward to reading where the author will take that cliffhanger.
I received a complimentary copy of this book courtesy of the author.