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Mark Henwick
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Raw Deal: Amber Farrell - Paranormal PI - Prequel (Bite Back) Kindle Edition

by Mark Henwick (Author), Lauren Sweet (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 290 ratings
See all formats and editions
The bestselling paranormal urban fantasy series begins with this heart-pounding prequel novella.

Amber Farrell confronts the aftermath of a career-ending mission gone awry. Ejected from the
covert military, she returns to the ordinary world as a rookie policewoman in her hometown of
Denver, but in truth, Amber is far from ordinary. A venomous secret courses through her veins: the
bite of a vampire lays undeveloped in her blood and demands, ever louder, to be heard.

As she valiantly strives to forge a new life, her mettle is tested when a string of unexplained deaths
send shockwaves through Denver's underbelly. Duty and instinct collide to thrust Amber into a
treacherous dance on the razor's edge—bound by obligation yet propelled by an unyielding force
she can no longer suppress.

Amber Farrell's origins ignite in a paranormal action thriller that blurs the line between hunter and
prey, justice and darkness, and propels her into the kickass heroine of the Bite Back series, where
she must choose between the path duty demands, and the one she is destined to tread.

Fans of KF Breen, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, BR Kingsolver and Faith Hunter – this is your next
must read!

About the series:
There's something about the way Henwick tells a story, and the veracity he brings to his characters, that had me glued to the pages from the start.

They're just so darn good [ ] they represent some of the best the field has to offer. I still can't quite put my finger on how Henwick has made the tropes feel so fresh. I'm just glad he has. Charles De Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine

Readers of Raw Deal say:
This excellent urban fantasy hits the ground running and never lets up. Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
-
Amber is a kick-ass lead that is a force to reckon with. Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
-
I just wish Mark would write faster. Beta readers, schmeta readers, forget them, just give me the next book out and I'll read around the typos! This series is for all Ilona Andrews fans. Start with this prequel first. Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
-
This is an outstanding entry into Mark Henwick's Bite Back series. Things start moving from the first chapter and don't really let up. I started the read and never put it down. Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
-
Free on kindle prequel that has gained a new fan for the author, this fast-paced read was exactly what I was looking for, from the strong female lead to the great setup for future stories! Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Previous page
  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    May 30, 2013
  5. File size
    2216 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Charles de Lint, in a review of the series for Fantasy & Science Fiction:
 "They represent some of the best the field has to offer."

About the Author

Mark was born in Africa and left out in the sun too often. An early interest in philosophy and psychology was adequately exorcised by tending bars. And while trying to enroll in a class to read Science Fiction full time, he ended up taking an engineering degree which splendidly qualified him to move into marketing. That in turn spawned a late onset career in creative writing.  
When not writing, Mark gets high by the slightly less conventional means of a small microlight aircraft, or down and dirty on a mountain bike. He lives with his family, ducks and chickens in the south of England, and can often be found in the Rockies.   Updates can be found on : athanate.com henwick.wordpress.comfacebook.com/TheBiteBackSeries

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00D3VJIU6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Marque (May 30, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 30, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2216 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 290 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mark Henwick

Mark Henwick

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Author of the long running Urban Fantasy 'Bite Back' series and the Science Fiction series 'Among the Stars' and 'The Long Way Home'.

Mark was born in Africa and left out in the sun too often.

An early interest in philosophy and psychology was adequately exorcised by tending bars. And while trying to enroll in a class to read Science Fiction full time, he ended up taking an engineering degree which splendidly qualified him to move into marketing. That in turn spawned a late onset career in creative writing.

When not working, Mark gets high by the slightly less conventional means of a small microlight aircraft, or down and dirty on a mountain bike.

He lives with his family in the south of England, but can often be found in the Rockies.

(Amazon doesn't allow active links here, so the URLs below have to be copied and pasted to your browser)

Updates can be found on :

http://www.facebook.com/TheBiteBackSeries

https://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Henwick-Extraordinary-Science-Fiction/100084665841200/

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
290 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Zack
5.0 out of 5 stars When is book 3 coming out?
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2013
Verified Purchase
Like books 1 and 2 I couldn't put this one down. This fleshed out quite a bit of the back story on how Amber got from the army to being a PI, and I'll be interested to see if some of the characters in the prequel make it into book 3.

As to why I gave it 5 stars: The story line is fantastic, but for me characters really make the book. Amber is a strong, female lead, who certainly has her flaws, but really tries to make the best of the cards she has been dealt. She might complain occasionally, but refuses to simply be carried along by the events happening around her, and to her. And while she does make mistakes, they are the understandable kind that are much easier to see in hind sight. There are no teeth grinding moments where you want to scream at the main character (or toss the book) because he/she is making the same self destructive decision for the umpteenth time. At the same time Mark Henwick hasn't gone overboard making a super hero either. The surrounding characters are also very well done, and constantly leave you wishing you knew more about them.

I would highly recommend giving this book a try. Just be warned that you may find yourself rushing back to Amazon to get the next two books in the series. Then you can join me in waiting impatiently for book three to be published.
One person found this helpful
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Diane D. (genre fiction biblioholic)
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction -- I hope the full-length novels maintain this tone.
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
I like urban fantasy, but there's so much trashy-romance dreck out there nowadays (especially among the Kindle free/99¢ selections) that it can be hard to find the good ones. (I often enjoy a bit of romance with my supernatural suspense, but honestly, how many shirtless, tattooed headless-guy covers do we need?)
... So anyway, I'm very glad I finally decided to try this prequel novella. Think Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson (the "Blood"/Henry Fitzroy books) crossed with a mix of Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels & Andrea Nash: a tough gal who carries a gun, not a sword, with a threatening future looming over the life she's trying to build. I felt this novella was much better than many other "samples" authors have taken to offering, which often read like mere teaser ads. I really got a sense of the character, and the writing was rich and well-edited, telling a complete and suspenseful tale.
N.B. "Raw Deal" ends at the 80% point, followed by the first several chapters of Book 1, which made me eager to read on.

My personal favorite urban fantasy authors are probably Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson et al), Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels et al) and Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden), if it helps you to know where my tastes lie. (There was no romantic interest appearing as yet, so I'll have to see how that goes -- Anita & Sookie types need not apply for room on my shelves, though I'm reasonably open-minded.)

UPDATE: I'd originally rated this 5*****, probably because it was a satisfying short after a run of unsatisfying ones, but I've now read the next ("first") book, and it does seem to be going in a convoluted-relationships direction. I don't mind the inclusion of a same-sex relationship possibility ('though I don't need explicit details, which *may* be coming in later entries), but I just don't like the depth/strength/balance of the psycho-emotional interactions and foundations between her and *either* of her possible significant others.
5 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific series
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2019
Verified Purchase
This series by Mark Henwick is phenomenal. This is actually the prequel to the series. I can’t say enough about the characters he has created. I love the strong women in the book who are actually smart and strong. So many books have leads the are suppose to be that but are not. I also love the fact that the paranormal are in our current world and not a fantasy world. The books are also complex without being to complicated if that makes sense. I guess complex but able to easily follow is what I’m saying. Sometimes a books complexity can be a downfall because they are hard to follow. But not the case here. The military aspect in this is also something that really enhances the story. Love the series and the audiobooks are wonderful too.
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Calen
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good, practical heroine
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
As crowded as the supernatural heroine genre has become, this one still immediately stood out to me. First of all I loved Amber a lot. She wasn't annoyingly emotional or completely damaged and dead to her emotions either, just practical. She tends to avoid the sort of situation that crops up in some books (and horror movies) where you're mentally screaming "Don't go in there alone, idiot!" On a related note, Henwick also avoids forcing his good guys to be totally blind to an obvious situation for 2/3s of the book in order to steer the plot where he wants it.

Overall, the writing is tight and never feels like it unravels at any point. The main character is smart, empathetic (to me), and genuinely impresses me. Even when the plot traverses more "epic" style subject matter (ancient feuds/powers/cultures) it doesn't seem dumbed down for us or too easily integrated into the more modern feeling parts of the story. Great, great book to me.
2 people found this helpful
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Pendragon
5.0 out of 5 stars Raw Deal, a continuation of the Amber Farrell series
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
I was turned on to the Amber Farrell series by a friend and was pleasantly surprised by the thought and detail put into the story by the author. Granted, this series is yet another look into the paranormal world of vampires (Don't call us that!!!), werewolves and such, but it is quite unique in it's approach. The action is fast paced at times and especially in this book, it keeps you guessing. You'll be surprised the first time you read it, kicking yourself for not putting the clues together. Just like most good mysteries, it's never who you think it is, but the ride to the end is fun. All the characters from the first two books are there, Amber, the Colonel, Skylur, Bian and Jen with enough twists and turns along the way to make you car sick if you're not careful!!! Few paranormal books catch my interest to make me read more than one or two books, but I find myself eager for the next installment.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars it is a really excellent book that sets up the story arc nicely
Reviewed in Canada on September 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
Just read Raw Deal, it is a really excellent book that sets up the story arc nicely. I liked it so much that I'm now rereading the rest of the Bite Back series!
Really looking forward to when the next one comes out.
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Deborah Jay
5.0 out of 5 stars Hits the ground running and keeps on going
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
This excellent urban fantasy hits the ground running and never lets up.
Amber Farrell is an ex-military special-ops soldier, trying (not very successfully) to fit into her new life as a rookie cop in Denver. Although it turns out she’s never really left the army – she still reports to her superior officer, and he has the say-so on whether she’s allowed to remain at large, or be hauled back into the research facility monitoring her ‘condition’, because Amber has been bitten by a vampire. She hasn’t turned into one yet, but the army is keeping a close eye on her.
Apart from her awesome physical training, Amber now has one particularly special, possibly unique, ability – she can sniff out vampires. And that’s what she’s doing in Denver.
Now in recent years, particularly since starting to read indie published books, I’ve become quite picky, and for the most part I’ve stopped reading vampire fiction. For me, there are only so many times I can read about the darkly handsome stranger struggling against his vampiric nature to love the heroine. Books with vampires in other roles, I can take, but most times if the story revolves around vampires, I stop reading the blurb.
I was encouraged to give this one a go by a friend and book reviewer, and I’m so glad I listened to her. These vampires are nasty, and they don’t hog the story. This is Amber’s life we are reading about and boy, does she have issues to deal with.
Without getting too far into the plot, much of the story centres around a dubious vampire-themed night club, Club Agonia, where sex and SM are the norm, presided over by an exotic madam with a mega understanding of the dark desires of her customers – and of Amber.
Mark Henwick’s writing is so good it’s invisible – I was drawn so thoroughly into the characters I empathised with all their feelings. At the same time, this is an action tale, with blood and nastiness, and if I have one tiny whinge about it, I thought the vampires died too easily, but hey, Amber has all those superbly honed reactions and she got the job done.
This novella is a prequel to Henwick’s popular ‘Bite Back’ series, and I enjoyed it so much I went straight out and bought Sleight of Hand as soon as I was finished.
Highly recommended.
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Sebastian Weber
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!
Reviewed in Germany on September 4, 2013
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Ich lese mich momentan quer durchs Urban Fantasy Genre. Über den ersten Band der Reihe ("Sleight of Hand") bin ich dabei mehr oder minder zufällig gestolpert. Und war sofort gefesselt. Eigentlich sollte man in meinem Alter clever genug sein an einem Werktag nicht bis drei Uhr früh zu lesen. Aber ich konnte das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen. Und genauso ging es mir mit den weiteren Bänden der Reihe ("Hidden Trump" und "Raw Deal").

Ich warte sehnsüchtig auf Nachschub!
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
I am working my way through the complete series and this is an excellent prequel that introduces some of the main characters and fills in some of the backstory.
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M Allan
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on September 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
Really enjoyable series.
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