This is the prequel to the Author's superb Hollows series

I always wondered how a tomato could cause all the deaths in humans and some of the Inderlanders of mixed blood but this book explains how it all happened .
It all starts with jealousy - two elves , Trisk and Kalamack , develop their own genetic systems designed to benefit their race . When Kalamack is sent to verify Trisk's latest devlopment of a modified hairy tomato that will help feed the hungry he is determined to sabotage her trials - with catastrophic results .
The modified tomato creates plague like symptoms killing humans in their millions , with Kalamack determined to blame anyone but himself . When the vampires find their blood source diminishing they start to take witches by force resulting in a whole city being destroyed .
The Inderlanders reluctantly decide to work together and force Trisk and Kalamack to work together to mitigate the disaster and get the word out that to eat a tomato or a tomato based product is almost certain death in Humans
This is a fast paced , fantasy thriller that brings together all the different races and forces them out of hiding and into the world of Humans - a strong prequel to the Hollows - although I did find it difficult to understand the difference in the characters in this book and those that appear in the series e.g Quen and Kalamack are enemies in this book but are close friends in the series

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Late Edit -
I have only just realised that the Trent Kalamack in this book is the father of the Trent in the Hollows series ........ see this is what can happen sometimes with long lived species use the same names !!

Ok if you are already a fan of the Hollows series than this prequel is a must read as so much is revealed. If you are new to these books than shout hip hop hooray because it's a fabulous introduction to a world that is frankly addictive. Like many I'd always wondered just how the humble tomato could cause so much damage and be vilified until the pretty ordinary fruit became public enemy number one! Open this book and get pulled into a story of pride and vanity that leads to catastrophe but with a hint of greater things to come as there's always hope.
Briefly this book tells of the rivalry between two elves Trisk, a dark elf and Kal, the supposed golden elf. It's set in the sixties but the sexism and belittling of females in general in the elven society means Trisk is never given the acclaim her work deserves. Trisk is sent to work undercover with humans enabling her to make huge scientific strides. Unfortunately Kal is sent to make sure the projects Trisk has worked on are safe but sadly his blinkered ideas and selfish attitude sets in motion something that will necessitate those who are paranormal stepping out of their hidden world before everything is lost.
I was hooked from the first page but it's not exactly black and white and frankly the end left a nasty taste in my mouth. Trisk is truly gifted with a strong backbone but her choices at times just amazed me but then I live in 2017 with all its freedoms so perhaps shouldn't judge too harshly. Kal is very hard to like admittedly but he does have one or two things that help save his character. One he really wants to help his fellow elves although I couldn't help but think he wanted all the credit and two he clearly has an emotional tie to someone who perhaps lacks physical stature but not courage. I've no wish to spoil this book but will state that I so enjoyed spotting characters who I'm used to reading about in later years. With its elves, witches, vampires, shifters, pixies and even demons this turned out to be a fabulous book. Perhaps though it was the willingness of so many to sacrifice that made it a standout story for me but alas to say more would ruin the fun.
A copy of this was provided with no requirement for a review and I voluntarily read it which means my comments are my honest opinion