Short Fiction Friday: Trigger

Trigger by Courtney Alameda, Shutter 0.5

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat - a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. Now she's facing one of her most challenging ghost hunts ever. Lock, stock, and lens, she's in for one hell of a ride.

The first sentence of the synopsis caught my attention. Helsing. We all know who that is or was. To be honest I hadn't heard of Courtney Alameda and her shutter story but after reading Trigger, she is definitely on my radar!

The story of Trigger takes place before the events of the first book in the series Shutter. In Trigger you are introduced to the young women, (can't really call her a girl) Micheline Helsing, who is special. Her father definitely sees a bright future in her in a dark world. For birth Micheline knows what it takes to be a Helsing. To hunt the supernatural, to hunt the dead and make world a better and safer place to live. She is somewhat forced by her father to grow up really fast and soon she has her first assignment, however thing don't go as expected. Don't worry, Micheline survives but she was unable to get rid of the scissorclaw. Murder continue to happen because of this and action needs to be taken by the Reapers, people like Michaeline and her father. These being wouldnt live if they werent sneaky and smart so it becomes a cat and mouse game in order to catch the scissorclaws, one that will test the limits of Micheline's skill, powers and determination. 

Courtney Alameda divides the story of Trigger in three months, with each part seperated by a few month. It might not sound special but it puts actually a larger timeframe in this short story. Giving the impression that you are reading a much big story. Even though the story picks up after event somewhere different it doesn't make the story erratic, there is a nice gradual transition. 

The world building that is shown in the few pages sounds just plain and simple awesome a fast paced Urban Fantasy stories, of which you only get to see the scissorclaws but you know that there is much more hiding in the dark and murky waters waiting to jump on you and kill you. Micheline lives in a dangerous world but definitely knows how to fend for herself. Courtney Alameda puts the setting just right, action packed and highly entertaining!