This was received as a Library Thing early Reviewer copy. Well written and convoluted plot. This really cannot be read without reading the previous two books in the series. I could work out some things, but there were holes in my understanding. I am still working out if I want to read parts 1 and 2 to then read this (part 3) in sequence. ( )

Faceless is the third book in the Modern Knights urban fantasy series by Joshua Bader. Colin Fisher is the personal wizard for the shadowy head of a multinational corporation. After surviving a battle with a demon possessed wizard in Las Vegas, he decides he needs to understand more about the source of his own magic and the disappearance of his fiance. He puts himself into a coma to take a spirit journey to find the truth.
Left behind to protect his body are his girlfriend, Veruca Wakefield, a demon blooded assassin, and FBI agent Andrea Deveraux. They face threats from a mysterious secret organization determined to kill Colin as well as a powerful man trying to kill Colin’s boss.
Bader’s series has elements of urban fantasy as well as Lovecraftian horror. Although, this is the third book in the series, it isn’t difficult to figure out who the characters are and what is happening. All the characters have interesting back stories as well as secrets that they are keeping, even from themselves.
Even though Colin Fisher is the main protagonist of the series, this book opens with him in a coma and much of the first third is told from the perspective of Andrea and Veruca. They are both capable and suitably kick-ass heroines and I enjoyed their interactions. I found Andrea’s motivations and choices a bit hard to believe. She takes the word of Colin’s boss that Colin is in a coma and in danger from the mysterious organization without any proof, and rushes off to confront the villain. Perhaps more is yet to be known about her character and background that would clarify her actions.
I found the second part of the book, Coin’s spirit journey, slower and less interesting. Without going into spoilers, there are details about reincarnation and the nature of the universe that I didn’t think added much to the novel. (Question: if everyone on earth is a reincarnated soul, how to deal with the fact that the population of the earth is, and has been, increasing throughout history? And what about life on other planets in the universe?). After the climactic battle with Colin and the two women were some chapters about the demon possessed wizard from the previous book who is in prison. I didn’t really care about that character or what happened to him, and the chapters seemed pointless and presumably were to set up events in the next installment. The end of the book gave a tease about the villains our the Modern Knights will face next.
Overall I enjoyed the first part of the book. The characters were interesting with a sense that there was more to learn about them. There was a lots of action and some funny dialogue. I found the rest of the book less engrossing and the ending anticlimactic and prolonged. I would think reading the first two installments of the series might help the enjoyment of this one. Readers who enjoy Lovecraftian elements might enjoy this book more than readers looking for a urban fantasy noir type of book. ( )