A Review of No Good Deed by Bill Blais

No Good Deed is an urban fantasy that puts a different twist on the idea of the unlikely heroine.

Kelly is a mother to twin eight-year-olds, and the wife of a man with M.S. She was just let go from her job when she unwittingly takes down a demon in a back alley. As a result, a secret organization offers her a job opportunity hunting demons full time. The job includes money and benefits that Kelly's family desperately needs, but is she right for the job?

Positive Comments

I really love this concept. Heroines who already have husbands and children, who we might typically think of as "settled down", make the most deliciously unlikely of action heroes. You really want to see Kelly become awesome, because she represents the Average Jane in all of us.

I liked the mythology behind the demons, and the fact that it wasn't presented as "All of these monsters are real, let's go kill them." It's a little more complicated than that, because even the organization that Kelly joins isn't sure what is real and what is purely myth.

Critical Comments

Kelly, Kelly...Kelly. A few things bothered me about her. Primarily, her wishy/washy attitude toward her new "job" drove me bonkers. First, she's understandably uncertain as to whether she should accept the position. I was fine with that. But then, having committed to it, I expected her to go into hard core training mode, and really give a shit about getting herself ready to battle demons. Instead she's kind of whiny about having to diet and exercise, and even just reading information on the monsters she'll be killing. This is life and death, Kelly! Take it seriously! I would think that knowing that monsters are real would outweigh the temptation  to eat a bowl of chocolate ice cream, but maybe I'm wrong.

I was also a bit bugged by Kelly's husband, Shawn, and how perfectly understanding he is of her. When she tells him, in vague terms, that she was offered this job that pays well and has instant benefits, but she doesn't know if she wants it...he's just way too quick to tell her it's okay if she stays unemployed for awhile. Really? Any real husband would be hard pressed not to say "Take the job, right now, for the love of GOD!" And he's not suspicious about why she's uncertain about it. She keeps saying "Oh, I don't know if it's for me..." And I was waiting for him to conclude that she'd gotten mixed up in a drug cartel or prostitution, because she was acting so freaking jumpy. Again, no real husband is going to be that disinterested.

Recommendation

Are there better UFs out there? Absolutely. But this one had some really good moments, and it kept me engaged and curious. I won't necessarily be reading the next one in the series, but I'm not totally put from it either. 3 stars.