Review of Melinda West and the Gremlin Queen by K.C. Grifant

Although I was charmed by Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger, I was also wary. I want to challenge myself when it comes to the subgenres I read, yet I recognize I often have good reason for not reading those subgenres—and there is nothing wrong with having preferences! That might be the case here. On the other hand, I also think this is a novel that could be much, much stronger.

Spoilers for the first book but not for this one.

This book picks up some time after the first leaves off. Melinda and Lance have retired from the monster hunter lifestyle—or so they think. Melinda is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, seeing monsters where she thinks there is none. Then someone from another town arrives seeking their help, spinning a tale of gremlins running roughshod. At first, Melinda and Lance balk. But then, of course, they agree to do this One Last Job. And with that, the plot is off to the races. Soon, Melinda and Lance are joined by a pregnant woman and her protector and an ornery scientist with a shady past.

The actual premise for this plot might be superior to the first book: the gremlins are a more concrete adversary than the soul-snatching demon who was largely off-stage during the first book. Once again, Grifant offers up a great balance of exposition and suspense, accompanied by some intense action scenes. The plot moves at a brisk pace, the stakes rising accordingly. Indeed, probably my favourite thing about this novel is its structure.

I also enjoy how Grifant is working at the worldbuilding. Again, we seldom get as much exposition as one might desire, and that’s to the good. I’m sure she has far more about this world worked out than she has let on in these two books, and one of the joys for readers of this series will be seeing that evolution over time. This book brings us to a new setting, one mentioned in the first book but not visited.

The themes are variations on what we saw in the first book: Melinda is once again stubborn, once again offered power with strings attached. She’s a great protagonist. However, I think I’ve identified one of the reasons this series doesn’t hit for me: she and Lance are supposed to be this amazing team, both as husband and wife and as monster hunters. But in the first book, Lance is sidelined because he’s got part of his soul sucked away … and in this book, well, Lance gets sidelined for much of the action again. Indeed, most of the other characters get more development than Lance, and that feels like a problem.

The denouement also represents a pretty interesting hard reset on Melinda and Lance’s circumstances. That’s all I will say about that. Gutsy move for Book 2—then again, I understand why Grifant might choose to go this route. I don’t know if I would describe the ending as satisfying. Much like my reaction in my first review, I might just shrug and say … it’s fine?

After reading Melinda West and the Gremlin Queen, I’ll reluctantly conclude that maybe the problem is me—I don’t think I am the audience for these books. That’s OK! I gave it a try. If you like weird west and stories of monsters that are more than they seem, you might want to give these a try too. Alas, I cannot rave about them the way I might like.