Zack Stevens, superhero-turned-bounty-hunter, is going about his day-to-day business pursuing bad guys with enhanced abilities when he finds himself becoming entangled in the lives of four novice bounty hunters that get in his way. Accidental enhancement has gotten one of the four young women into the most serious trouble. When good-hearted Zack steps in to help, the hunters become the hunted. From an isolated cottage overlooking a Canadian lake, to a Victorian scientist’s lab deep under London, Zack and his new friends must stay one step ahead of the powerful forces ranged against them or face certain death.
Author Markus Matthews is at his best delivering solid, strategic action scenes pitting the good guys against dangerous adversaries. From a leprechaun with a raunchy wit, to a powerful earth elemental, to the vicious Blood Dagger drow clan, and ultimately, to Giselle, the master of the French vampire court, the new comrades, must marshal their skills to face increasingly difficult odds. Matthews — more in love with plot than with language — suffers from somewhat flat prose, but the action effortlessly propels the story forward.
Matthews does a creditable job building believable connections between his characters. Blue a shadow traveler is deeply committed to Stella a seemingly 10-year-old English girl hiding great power and terrible history. These two provide the experience to help Bree, a Werepanther and natural leader with unquestionable loyalty and a body to die for; and Zack, the air and lightning elemental who could use a team. Together, they commit themselves to protect their friend, Olivia, an ebullient, sexy vampire.
There is a satisfying subtext in A BOUNTY WITH STRINGS about managing hunger. Matthews relishes descriptions of the petite, pretty Bree’s endless Werepanther appetite and the capacity of the mad scientist’s Food-O-Tron. He plays lightly with the boundary between Olivia’s flirtatious advances toward Zack, and the danger her vampire urges represent. This restraint between friends is set against Giselle’s relentless craving to secure her power. There’s a sweetness in this theme: good people, enhanced or not, must manage their appetites to work together.
Markus Matthews has created a diverting and playful contribution to the contemporary fantasy genre in A BOUNTY WITH STRINGS–featuring well-constructed action scenes, the hearty teamwork of enhanced magical characters and the escalating danger they must face to protect each other and survive.
~Ellen Graham for IndieReader