Bite Back Books In Order

Publication Order of Bite Back Books

Bite Back is a an urban fantasy paranormal book series by Mark Henwick which rolled out in 2013 when Raw Deal, the first in the series was published. In Mark Henwick’s Bite Back series debut novel Sleight of Hand, we are introduced to a private investigator named Amber. After unearthing a gun and drug business operation in one of her client’s businesses, she immediately involves the police and sends shivers to Denver’s criminal underworld gang. But bad luck is on her side as the Denver police department shut down the client’s business as they launch investigations, and in response, her client refuses to pay her.

Now facing a serious cash problem, Jennifer Kingslund7 pays Amber a visit with the claims that one of her employers has been abducted and that someone is trying to destroy her business and reputation. With no alternatives, Amber takes on the job and soon discovers that the job is much bigger and more intricate than she initially thought. Adding to the list of her problems, a vampire infection has infected her blood and is slowly taking over her body. If she isn’t careful, the government minders will take her to a padded room where the military scientist will watch and control her every move.

Sleight of Hand is a hybrid between the hard-boiled detective books of the 1930-the 1940s and modern-day urban fantasy books by famous authors such as Faith Hunter and Jennifer Estep. For several reasons, the author has crafted an intriguing and exceptional story that feels more of an urban fantasy than a paranormal. Firstly, the action in the book is set in modern-day Denver, unlike most paranormal books, where the action takes place in an alternate world. The story includes paranormal beings but in a fascinating, believable and exciting way.
There is plenty of suspense, action, likeable character undergoing a trying moment in life and some intriguing supporting characters. Additionally, there are some love interests, but the novel does not end up being a wham-bam as many fantasy novels do. The author focuses on character development, world-building, and the science behind police and military procedure, all of which contribute to the story’s goodness. Everything in the story is well crafted and perfectly leaves enough room for follow-up books.

Amber is a pretty fascinating character than most of the female characters in the urban fantasy or paranormal genres. She is a retired military, so she is a highly trained individual. On the other hand, she is also a damaged character but highly mature and also immature in some ways. She is strong enough to offer protection to others but at the expense of terrible pain. You won’t find the kind of instant sex you may find in other similar genre books, but Amber is going through an essential change in her life that causes her to suffer both physically and emotionally.

The creature she’s becoming is highly charged, and dealing with such a change will be something the reader will find interesting to watch, given the dynamics of the community she will soon be joining. It will be interesting to watch her grow and mature. It’s also interesting to see mixed dynamics in her love life, which is more realistic, especially with the new world the author is developing.

There is no real romance or sex, but there are flirting scenes throughout the debut novel series. Besides Amber and her new client Jen, Mark Henwick also introduces us to a series of other interesting supporting characters. For example, there are military scientists who want to study and control Amber; then there are the local police, Amber’s friend who is on the verge of becoming a vampire, werewolves and vampires. Jen is also infected by a vampire and is almost helpless to stop the infection’s progression.

Amber interacts with the supporting characters throughout the entire story, which is somehow a mystery more than it is a story about vampires. The pacing and Henwick’s creative details are fantastic. The narrator of the story does a great job of bringing the story to life.
Hidden Trump is the second book in the Bite Back series by Mark Henwick. The book picks up where the first in the series left off, and the excitement doesn’t end. The book features plenty of action and, at the same time, keeps you hooked from the first page to the last. Unlike other books in the same genre, the action, which includes Athanate, werewolves and adepts, is highly believable. While Amber is transforming into something else that is both strong and fast, she still does retain some parts of physical and emotional aspects.
Amber continues to change and has come to accept that she is an Athenate (vampire), and because of the timing of this transformation, and the consequences for the future of the vampires everywhere, almost everyone in the book wants to abduct and control her. Besides accepting that she is a vampire, Amber also comes to accept that she is attracted to both men and women. The attraction towards women is mainly through flirtation, even though there are some scenes of explicit hereto sex.

Overall, Hidden Trump is a novel that’s more plot-based rather than being character development driven. However, there are supporting characters that are given distinct and appropriate personalities, even when their true motive is purposely left empty as the story progresses through plots and subplots.

Nevertheless, Mark Henry’s character development is still brilliantly done, and the continuous world-building are genuinely outstanding. Throughout the story, it’s evident that the author doesn’t fall for the “pure style” trap, which seems to be affecting so many other writers. There is a background cast in the main character’s life, most notably Top (who was first introduced in the first book), whose history plays an important role to Amber and needs full development as a supporting character. There are subplots within the main plot, suspense, mystery, dark secrets, backstabbing, conspiracy, and enigmas flowing through the first and the second book in the series. Hidden Trump promises to grab your attention right from the first page and keep you enthralled to the last page.