Pet Shop Boys
By Kim Harrison
ISBN# 9780062237682
Author’s Website:  http://www.kimharrison.net/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Pet Shop Boys is a short story written by Kim Harrison that is going to be featured in her upcoming anthology, Into the Woods, that is slated to be released in October.  Pet Shop Boys is centered around a  20-something, Cooper, who struggles to get by while working at a pet store.

One night a young girl wanders into the store right before closing and is later followed by her mom, Felicity.  And, Cooper can’t believe his luck when smoking hot Felicity comes on to him.  He knows he should stay away from her, but can’t resist when she asks him to join her for a Christmas party later that night.

But Cooper quickly learns that things are not what they seem.  What starts out as a rocking party quickly turns into a nightmare as he starts seeing people slumped over at tables after being bitten and then their unconscious or dead bodies being carried off somewhere.  Even Cooper’s boss isn’t what she has always appeared to be.  But can Cooper manage to get out of this mess alive?

I don’t really know what to think about this story.  It’s definitely a little different.

I have to say though that I’m so used to reading Harrison’s Hollows series narrated by Rachel Morgan that it was nice to see a story by her with the lead character giving us a male perspective.  I really enjoyed Cooper and his struggle between his brain and his… other brain, if you know what I mean?  He knows he shouldn’t go off with Felicity, but he can’t resist a chance to possibly get laid with a hot chick….that is so male….at least the stereotype of one!  But it made him as a character more believable.  Although that’s about the only thing, believable in this story.  It’s not that I didn’t like the story, but it was just really out there.

Before the story begins, there is a note from Kim explaining how this is short she had written with the possible intention of creating a new series from it and the ending definitely speaks to that.  It leaves the story open and gives you the feeling that there are more installments to come.  Not to mention the plural of ‘boys’ in the title of the short and there only being one pet shop ‘boy’ in this story.  I think with some finesse and some full-length novels that could help us get to know the secondary characters, the series definitely has some potential.  That is, if Harrison chooses to go through with making a series out of it.  I guess only time will tell.

This is a quick read that can easily be read in a couple of hours and would be a great little story for the upcoming Halloween season.