Links: Review from March 2009 / Show Official Info /

More by Kim Harrison Dead Witch Walking Every Which Way But Dead The Good, the Bad, and the Undead A Fistful of Charms For a Few Demons More White Witch, Black Curse Dates From Hell (anthology with other authors)

This is the 7th book in The Hollows series which features bounty hunter and witch, Rachel Morgan. Rachel lives with a vampire in an old church with a living gargoyle on the roof and pixies in the backyard. She's connected to a demon, in trouble with the authorities, and mourning the death of her lover. As if this weren't enough to keep anyone busy, a new predator has arrived in the city and it's out for blood--Rachel's blood. Mix into this a potential new love interest, the long term rivalry with the FIB, and Rachel's involvement with the whole Elf dilemma and you can tell that Rachel Morgan has her hands full this time.

Like all of the previous books, Kim Harrison keeps things moving along at a fairly frenetic pace, often juggling two or three plot lines at the same time. This is certainly part of what makes this series so successful, Harrison's ability to keep multiple story lines running simultaneously, weaving them in and out and bringing them all to resolution by the final page. But regardless of how complicated the plots they don't take a back seat to the characters. This is very character driven material and the book rises or falls on Harrison's ability to make Rachel Morgan believable (within context of course), likable, and someone the reader can identify with.

I liked this book, and series, having read them all to date (at least all the paperbacks since the publisher, for some reason, does not send me the hardcovers). Harrison has done a great job with creating a universe where the supernatural and the common place meld, where magic and mothers hold sway over individual choice, and where creatures from our imagination need to hold jobs to put food on the table. Harrison was one of the first to enter into the paranormal/fantasy sub-genre and my guess is she'll be here for some time. White Witch, Black Curse is highly recommended if you like fast paced, action oriented fantasy.