Chess is juggling so many balls I'm kind of surprised she manages to keep them all in the air. She lies to pretty much everyone. Trying to keep her Church life separate from everything else. Hiding her relationship with Lex from Terrible and Bump. Chess's addictions and job make for gritty reading, edging this urban fantasy deeper into horror territory. At one point I was even reminded of Stephen King's writings, the descriptive imagery used by Kane causing me to shudder with delighted disgust. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.