3.5 Stars Red is your typical murder mystery story full of atypical characters. Well, sort of. They are characters from all your favorite reads, from fairy-tales to classic literature. They have magically migrated from the land of literature to the world of Here and Now. Once here, they have to adapt to the real world. You can imagine how that may not always work. Tess (aka Red, as in Little Red Riding Hood) is a tough chick who hunts down wayward storybook characters. Think of her as a bit of bounty hunter, tromping around in big black boots, not taking crap from anyone and is full of attitude and snark. The other side of Tess is much softer. She's had her heart broken by the Big Bad Wolf, she loves her grandmother and she's a good friend. It's a great balance for a main character and I really enjoyed her. When Tales start dying off mysteriously, Tess teams up with detective Nate Grimm (as in Grimm Reaper), to hunt down and question the suspects. All of which happen to be Red's past failed relationships. Nate is the kind of guy who takes everything in stride. He's so mellow and smooth. Again, a nice balance considering he is Death. The relationship that develops between them is a slow build up from sweet flirtation to trusting partnership to romance and it felt very real.The marriage between a real life murder mystery and fairy-tale characters (and there are a ton of recognizable characters) was quite seamless and the way Kate wove them together was magical. Seeing them struggle with real problems and relationships, while getting to know them all in a different light was so much fun. There have been so many re-vamped takes on the classics lately but I think Red stands alone. All in all this was a great, strong start to what I think will be an exciting series. *A copy of this title was provided to me by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
