Atonement Sky is the ninth book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series and the twenty-fourth novel set in the Psy-Changeling universe overall. I’m not sure just how many of those books you would need to read in order to understand this one, but I do know you can’t start here. Most of the world-building was done in the early books of the Psy-Changeling series, and this one will make no sense without that information.

Justice-Psy Eleri Dias is dying. She is determined to spend the short time she has left hunting down a serial killer called The Sandman. He’s been sending her taunting little notes, teasing her with the fact that law enforcement is far off base in how they are hunting for him. Since Eleri is essentially retired and awaiting her demise, she decides to follow a clue others believe is a dead end. There have been no murders in Raintree, AZ; none of the victims were from the area, but the city sits at the center of all the body dumps. She believes the killer wasn’t focused on the location of the kill nor the women he murdered, but on logistics – how long it takes him to get to and from home to wherever he builds the elaborate memorials that enshrine his prey.

The only problem is, Raintree is the home of Adam Garrett, a falcon changeling who rightly believes that Eleri participated in a miscarriage of justice during the trial of his parents’ murderer many years ago. Since he is the head of the Changeling clan that controls Raintree, she must work with him to have any hope of success.

As the leader of his tribe, Adam is fiercely protective of his community. He has long resented Eleri’s role in letting his parents’ killer go free, but her logic is sound, and her facts all add up. After a single conversation with her, he’s open to the idea that the Sandman lives and works among the people who call Raintree home. Any doubt he has is erased when one of his second wing commanders is shot and the local sheriff suffers a mysterious, potentially deadly, ailment, all within twenty-four hours of Eleri’s arrival. The Sandman is clearly trying to make it hard for the shifters and local police to hunt him.

Adam may not trust Eleri’s integrity, but he is confident of her skills in the field and knows he will have to work with her to bring this killer to justice. But he’s scared, not so much for his own life as he is for his heart. He’s had faith in this woman, in her honesty and compassion, once before, had started falling for her the minute he met her, but all that was destroyed the moment she lied under oath and let a killer go free. He can’t help but wonder if he can trust her now, or if his undeniable attraction to her will cloud his judgment, both about the case and about his own feelings.

With the clock ticking on Eleri’s life, she must use every tool available to bring the Sandman to justice. But will she be able to treat Adam as just another tool in her arsenal? Or will her frozen heart finally awaken in this desert landscape, just as any hope for a better future she ever had is ending?

If you’ve stayed with a series for over twenty books, you are clearly a fan, and fans will recognize all the elements of this novel. Adam is your typical Alpha leader: protective, caring, paternal, but stern, a strong fighter, and a great friend and lover. Eleri is your typical damaged psy. Beneath the surface is a warm, caring woman, but the Silence protocol she was raised under has stripped her of almost all of her personality and sense of self. Only Adam and her three close Justice colleagues can breach the ice that has layered over the heart of who she is.

As always, Adam and his Changeling clan all live in a close conclave, with people having private living areas around a central hub where everyone gathers to eat or hang out. This enables us to meet a lot of Falcon Changelings and get a feel for how they live and work. Which is exactly like most of the other Changeling clans we’ve met.

And as always, the tale is full of hyperbolic moments. No one can fix Eleri’s health until voilà! it is suddenly curable. No one can handle X problem until voilà! Eleri manages it. This world is replete with insurmountable difficulties that our hero and heroine inevitably surmount. It’s pretty much par for the course for every instalment.

The serial killer case doesn’t involve much solid policing (I knew who it was by the first quarter of the book, despite the red herring thrown at us). It simply serves as an impetus for Eleri and Adam to get together. This is pretty much insta-love, so there’s not a lot of relationship building. I did like them together – both are strong, honorable people with a heart for others. There just isn’t a lot of time for them to have the small, sweet moments that turn two people into a couple.

In fairness, Singh has a lot to cover in her books. There are numerous guest appearances (Sascha, Naya, Ashaya, Dorian, Max, and Sophia, to name but a few), as well as the ongoing socio-political narratives that comprise the overarching plot of the Psy-Changeling universe. Among those, we touch briefly on the problems with the Psy-Net here and do a deep dive into psy-shields. We also get a look at the relationships the heroes/heroines of previous novels are building between the Psy, humans, and Changelings as well as discovering a dangerous new gradient among the Psy.

After spending so much time in the Psy-Changeling world, it is comforting to encounter so much that is predictable and similar in Atonement Sky. It’s like going to a fast food restaurant and picking up your go-to order. You aren’t looking for something unique; you just want the delight of the expected. However, that is also a weakness, since this isn’t a standout in the long line of stories that make up this saga, nor will it ever work as a standalone. But if you’re a fan looking for your usual dose of escapism, Atonement Sky will be perfect for you.