Indie Book Review - Hush Money (Talent Chronicles #1) by Susan Bischoff

 Set in an almost dystopic America where those born with Talents (ie: super powers) are taken away to camps where unspeakable things happen to them. Joss is a teenaged girl with a tragic past who wants nothing more than to fade in the background. The less she's noticed the safer she and her family are. Enter Marco, a two-bit thug extorting Kat, Joss's new friend and fellow Talent. Can Kat, Joss, and Joss's crush Dylan stop Marco or is Joss's biggest fear about to become a reality?

Hush Money, the first in The Talent Chronicles, reads like a superhero origins story without the spandex suits. The plot may seem familiar, but the strength of the story is in the characters. Joss is a truly conflicted heroine, taught to never get involved or risk exposure to herself and her family watching her struggle to choose between her family and standing up for her friend is what kept me hooked throughout the book. She doesn't always make the choices I want her to, but every choice feels authentic and the character growth evolves naturally throughout the book. Marco, Joss's rival and a truly disturbing villain, was the other standout character. It's not his anger or ability to do violence that makes him so chilling. It's his cleverness. Marco is not your typical dumb bully. He's cunning, narcissistic and as amoral as they come. What makes him even more chilling is when he's juxtaposed with his best friend Dylan's memories of him as a younger, kinder version of himself.

My only real issue with Hush Money comes from the world building. The details given to the reader about this world of super powers is sparse at best and what we are told, that the government takes away Talents and all Talents are afraid of them, seems inconsistent. I'm still not sure if the fear that permeates Joss's life is a symptom of her family's paranoia, the town's refusal to talk about Talents and their fates, or a national aura of fear and suspicion. More details and a more consistent tone would have made the world cohesive and much more realistic.

n the end, this book was a quick tense read with a couple amazing characters and I can't wait to read Out Past Curfew, the second in the Talent Chronicles.  Hush Money is available on Amazon and B&N.