The premise, as mentioned, is about an EMT working in Portland, Oregon. Already this series is the most realistic you could make about the subject because if there's anywhere that a bunch of fairies, werecreatures, and zombies could interact then it would be Portland. Abby was turned into a werewolf by the moon during one of her earlier encounters with the weird and has been struggling ever since. Unfortunately, zombies are already a problem ("Code Z"), the book opens with her dealing with a new vampire, and things just get stranger from there.
Part of what makes the book so entertaining is that it is gleefully, unapologetically off the wall nuts. Our heroine is trying to lead a normal life but things have utterly gone off the rails. She's a werewolf, her best friend is a necromancer, there's all sorts of insane supernatural calls in Portland, and she's found herself hunted by Santa Claus. Oh and now has guardianship of a little cat girl hunted by every force in the fairy world.
Emergency Shift is a book that benefits from paying attention to all its details because things are constantly being thrown at the reader. One of the more shocking details is that poor Abby experienced a mass shooting as a child when her boyfriend decided to go on a killing spree. This is something she's had a decade to cope with and drives her desire to help others but is just one of the many tragedies suffered by our heroine.
The humor is a nice mixture of absurd situations as well as dark moments that really strike the reader only a few seconds to process. One moment is the sweet old newly-risen vampire lady talking about her apartment then asking for change from the ferryman and casually discussing going off to murder someone who assaulted her in high school. Said person is in assisted living now but better late than never. Another moment in the book is a necromancer trying to get her zombies to serve as as chauffeurs, only to fail miserably due to the obvious problems. Oh and zombie hunters.
This is an insane fun book but some readers may find it hard to follow all of its craziness. At one point, the book enters into fairyland and it is a lot stranger than the already over-the-top version of Portland it presents. I would have possibly preferred to stick with the EMT section of the story and eased into the weirdness but it is a good read for those who want a kooky insane adventure about protecting a catgirl daughter figure.
