Alexander, Cassie: Shapeshifted (Edie Spence III) (2013)

ShapeshiftedFinal — Cover photo illustration by Aleta Rafton
Cover design by Kerri Resni

The Catholic church is a fascinating church. Within its realm we find people praying to both official and not quite so official saints to get these saints to function as mediators between themselves and God. Santa Muerte (the Skeleton Saint) is one such unofficial saint (a folk saint) – one that people pray to in spite of the priest’s condemnation of her.

For some strange reason the followers of The Godmother are persecuted in both Mexico and parts of the US. Human nature being what it is this has only led to an increase in the Saint Death‘s popularity – in some places eclipsed only by Virgin Mary worshipping. Santa Muerte is The Personification of Death itself and is considered very powerful. People pray to her on issues of health, money, love and so on.

PaleHorse Santa Muerte — Pale Horse Santa Muerte

In Shapeshifted the Lady of the Shadows seems to have disappeared. When Edie seeks help for her mother, the condition for getting help from the Shadows (from the sub-basement of County Hospital) is that she find Santa Muerte for them and inform them of the Skinny Lady‘s location.

Edie has no clue as to who/what the Holy Girl is. So she does what most of us do – goes on the internet. While looking for the Pretty Girl Edie finds a job in a poorer and criminally challenged part of town. The reason she applied for the job is because of a picture on the net of a huge mural of the Black Lady on the wall of the clinic. Unfortunately for Edie her lack of Spanish is a huge minus but due to how she deals with a crisis she gets hired.

Without knowing it, Edie is firmly back in the midst of the supernatural world and is once again going to have to fight for the lives of her friends and herself. Even though Edie felt she was getting a grip on what the supernatural world entailed, she finds her beliefs and values challenged. Not only must she find Santa Muerte, but Edie must also discover how much she believes in freedom of choice.

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