Specter by Susan Kaye Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Let me start with a dismal 3 stars and a "take it or leave it" recommendation. I read Season Two, Debt Collector 10 "Wraith" last December. For me that's a long time between "episodes" so I had to review notes to remind myself of the Season up to this second episode.
To promptly flesh this out, "debt collecting" is when a specially skilled person drains all the life from someone who has been deemed unable to financially contribute to society equal to or above the amount they owe society. Usually in medical bills.
"Debt collectors" are soul suckers, or if you prefer quasi-vampire substitutes, who suck life force instead of blood. (Think Lifeforce) I believe it is a genetic mutation in which the government has become heavily invested. This naturally means it is corrupt, being used ineffectively, immorally; ruining every life it touches from debt collectors, debt collectees, managers, administrators, lobbyist, and syndicated crime, ad nausea. With government involved, typically, there is approved soul sucking that is legal and other soul sucking that is illegal. Of course this makes debt collecting very profitable for nefarious slackers and ne'er do-gooders.
This "soul sucking" moniker is my shorthand for debt collecting or the draining of life force. Susan Kaye Quinn might take offense to my liberty with her story idea. My apologies, Ms. Quinn. In my defense, I do own most of your books AND audiobooks.
Alexandra is our protagonist, a female Batman or 007 type character with supporting cast of a Q (or Mr. Fox) character named Miral who is as eccentric as Q. She's Alexandra/Wraith's mad scientist in the dungeon lab with an infinite budget to support double-oh-BatWraith, Alexandra's nighttime alter ego…. "Wraith" an unregistered… rather an illegal debt collector.
Wraith also has an Alfred Pennyworth character in Jax who is a private investigator instead of a butler and Alexandra/Wraith also has a Ms. Moneypenny named Wyatt who is her assistant at Sterling. Wyatt appears to be slightly more lucky at love… or sex than Ms. Moneypenny is with Bond, James Bond.
In this episode Wraith, or Bruce Wayne impersonator Alexandra Morgan Sterling is in danger from Gehenna. At this point Gehenna is some undefined debt collection related entity or group who appear to have nefarious ambitions.
Daytime Alexandra is the major controlling share holder in Sterling, her murdered father's dream, ethical and moral compass non-profit organization regarding life energy technology related to "debt collection". (Think Anti-soul sucking advocate in favor of life kind of guy or a "pro-life" radical religious nut job as progressives might see it… but in a good way.)
As the major share holder and heir to her father's dreams Alexandra's alter ego would be something like a turd in the punch bowl if her extra-curricular activities are discovered. She is the thing her father railed against his whole life, sort of.
Both Alexandra's parents were killed by "debt collectors" and her father's life long ambition was contrary to debt collecting. So "Wraith" is an enigma of sorts.
Wraith hasn't been "officially" discovered as a debt collector. If memory serves me, she only discovered she was a debt collector in a most horrible way. In the throes of passion with her beloved she, eh, drained him to death. Yeah, I had to work to say that without too much vulgarity.
In this "Specter" episode Wraith encounters vile "Mafia" type debt collectors who mysteriously want to kill her or have her engaged in their enterprise, Gehenna. I've yet to discover their purpose. This episode, however, was a bit like the game where you pull flower petals off a flower saying, she loves me, she loves me not. Although in this twist, the opprobrious Gehenna folks are forcing Wraith into a series of thoughts like: they'll kill me, they'll kill me not.
Wraith doesn't appear interested in the pulling petals off the flower game. This makes her flagitious captors a little intense and frustrated. Her reluctance to cooperate throws the ball back into the Gehenna court to decide to kill her or not.
Filling out the protagonist earlier in the episode, Alexandra Morgan Sterling projects her inner Bruce Wayne while marching into a Sterling board meeting of conspiring little board member creeps bent on perverting her father's philanthropic ideals for the company. Among other power plays, Mistress Sterling boldly fires one of the creeps making Donald Trump of Apprentice TV Show fame, appear meek.
The fired creep, and likely other board members, contrary to all company morals have been sneaking illegal life energy hits on the black market not realizing their new boss, Mr. Sterling's little girl, Alexandra Morgan "Wraith" Sterling could spot someone who recently had a life energy hit from a block away.
I think this was both the "Alexandra spreads her wings" episode and "Wraith teetering on the precipice of a black hole" episode.
I did have a few narcoleptic moments in this episode but I blame myself, not Ms. Quinn for that unfortunate bit of writer's nightmare. I'm either puzzled, confused, or have forgotten how this non-profit Sterling enterprise has created so much wealth. No worries, I'll pay closer attention in future episodes to resolve my bewilderment.
If you're in for one episode, you're in for them all. In fact, I'm not entirely sure you can purchase the individual episodes separately these days.
I read this episode on April 2.
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