Genny is sidhe, a noble fae living in London and she has a secret, well perhaps more than one. She works for Spellcrackers, a witch run organisation which helps remove spells for their clients. Genny’s fae magic means she can see the spells and unwrap them but she’s not so good at casting them herself. She blames this on her condition, infected with V3, vampire venom which draws her close to the very creatures she wants to avoid. When a celebrity vampire is accused of murder, she finds herself being coerced into investigating…

The Sweet Scent of Blood marks the start of an addictive urban fantasy series by Suzanne Mcleod. Her world is full of magical creatures but grounded in a very familiar London. There’s plenty of brooding, handsome vampires but Genny doesn’t go all swoony and I love her attitude throughout. Even when she has her moments of weakness, she seems to give herself a mental prod to keep her on the straight and narrow. There’s just the right amount of sexy without it descending into porn.

The plot is twisty and turny, with lots of interesting and potentially suspicious characters. It’s a classic mystery with a supernatural twist and a smattering of humour. I loved that there was an office bet to find out if Finn, the satyr, has a tail underneath his glamour and that the goblins bling themselves up. It’s a fantastical and well thought out world that I just didn’t want to leave.

I liked her use of V3 as a medical condition. Vampires can choose to inject their venom when they feed which creates willing blood slaves. The venom acts as a drug which not only makes them more attracted and attractive to vamps, but affects them physically; causing their red blood cells to multiply…more food for the vamps but also dangerous if they don’t let blood on a regular basis. Of course, Genny being fae, she is extra tasty.