Step into a world where realms intertwine with Earth as Kristen, the newest member of the Department of Realm Containment, delves into the true dangers that threaten our existence.
Inexperienced yet determined, Kristen must rapidly catch up or risk the lives of her team. With her quick wit and mastery of spells plucked from the Realms, she may just have what it takes to save them all.
Atlanta’s Guide to Cryptids by Kevin A. Davis is the first in the DRC Files series. It follows Kristen as she joins the Department of Realm Containment and gets thrown into the deep end of a world where werewolves, vampires, witches, and revenants are very much a real problem. It’s billed as a paranormal procedural, and there is a mystery at the heart of it, but don’t come expecting NCIS-level investigative sharpness. The team spends more time reacting to what comes their way than actually working anything out, and the researcher who can apparently do almost anything in half a second does a lot of heavy lifting.
What carries it is the cast. The banter is fun, the characters are quirky and good company, and settling into the new job alongside Kristen gives the whole thing an easy, enjoyable energy that’s more fun than high-stakes. There’s actual murder in here, but the tone never tips into thriller territory. Side characters outside the main group stay fairly shallow, and the worldbuilding is more “jump in and find out” than clearly explained, which worked fine for me but may frustrate readers who like their orientation upfront.
I genuinely appreciated that there is no romance here at all. Female leads without that are still rarer than they should be. Personally I could also have done without Kristen noticing a colleague’s looks or pausing to think about her hair mid-investigation, but that’s my taste, and it’s a small thing.
Not a book that blew me away, but an easy, entertaining read with a cast worth spending time with. If you like your paranormal mystery light on drama and heavy on character dynamics, this is a decent place to start.
