Skin Deep by Mark Del Franco

Title: Skin Deep
Author: Mark Del Franco
Series: Laura Blackstone, Book 1
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
Publication Date: July 28, 2009
ISBN-10: 0441017436
Source: Library
Rating: ⛊⛊⛊⛉⛉ (3/5)
Synopsis:

A THRILLING NEW URBAN FANTASY SERIES FROM THE AUTHOR OF UNFALLEN DEAD AND UNQUIET DREAMS.

She'll need to keep up appearances-if she wants to stay alive...

Being an undercover agent has its occupational hazards, but Laura Blackstone makes it look easy. As a spy for a fey intelligence agency, she uses her magical abilities to create disguises that are skin deep glamours that must never be compromised. But when Laura's worlds collide she'll have more to worry about than retiring an identity; she may just lose her life.


I decided to write this review after realizing that there are not many ratings or reviews on it despite the fact that it was published nine years ago.  I stumbled across this book a few years ago while browsing the shelves of my local public library. I had been reading several non-fiction books for a summer class and wanted to take a break by reading something different. I'd heard of the author before but hadn't read any of his books. This review is from my third reading of the book after I came across it about seven years ago.



Impressions:
Laura Blackstone is a secret agent for InterSec (International Security Agency). She has to  juggle three different identities using her fey glamour to fight for what she believes in. There is the "real" her who is a PR Director for the Guild, her Janice Crawford identity who is an InterSec freelancer that works as the druid team member for the human SWAT team, and her Mariel Tate identity who is a high-level consultant for InterSec.

The book opens by following Janice Crawford on a drug lab bust that goes bad when a fellow SWAT team member is killed. Laura's three identities start to converge. Someone is trying to kill Janice (aka SWAT Laura) because they think the murdered SWAT team member told her something. PR Laura (the real her) has to deal with the potential PR fallout while planning a huge fey exhibition opening. And, Mariel (aka InterSec Laura) is finding a troubling connection between the drug bust and the exhibition opening.

Laura leads an action packed life-style trying to juggle the identities which each have their own unique characteristics. But, there seems to be a single connecting thread across the three identities--none of them leads a real life.

"[The room] was the one pace where she didn't have to be anyone. The problem was, she wasn't quite sure that that meant anymore. Her life had become the room, closed off, contained, and hidden".

Laura doesn't make unnecessary conversations or connections with anyone because it be yet another detail that she needed to remember for the identity. You get the feeling that her loneliness  has been going on for a while, and it's finally starting to catch up with her. She starts to doubt herself and her job until she meets a John Sinclair who is a new member of the SWAT team. He meets each of Laura's identities and each time, she feels a connection to him. Although she's conflicted trying to figure out if he's someone that she can trust, she wants to hang on to this possible ally and see where it goes.

I like this book. I do recall liking it a bit more the first couple of times that I read it, but I'm not sick of it yet. 😉I think that the main characters are believable. The plot's original and interesting. The author makes Laura a relatable character. She struggles against using alcohol as a coping mechanism, and her wrestles with her feelings of loyalty, loneliness, and trust. There are, however, aspects of the plot that aren't all that believable. Laura essentially has two full-time jobs (PR director and high-level consultant at an intelligence agency) and one part-time job (SWAT team member). Her two full-time jobs are REALLY BIG jobs! They are jobs where co-workers would expect to see you. They are jobs that have responsibilities that need to get done. With Laura's juggling multiple identities, it's hard to believe that someone wouldn't notice the low job performance even with her delegating tasks and others providing her cover. But then again, the book is set in Washington, D.C. So maybe excessive absences and the inability to reach others can be forgiven if you know the right politicians. Overall, I give this book a good, solid 3 out 5. I would recommend this book to others who like urban/paranormal fiction and are interested in strong female characters.