Sunday, November 21, 2010

Taken by the Others-Jess Haines

Taken by the Others
Jess Haines
Zebra, Jan 1 2011, $6.99
ISBN: 9781420111880

Elder vampire Max Carlyle has waited for centuries to find a tool to avenge a grudge he holds against a long time peer Alec Royce. Max believes he has the ideal expendable pawn in human private investigator Shiarra Waynest who has a legal obligation to Alec. Max kidnaps Shiarra and directs two of his fledglings to dine on her blood.

Royce rescues Shiarra from further abuse. However, Shiarra knows the vampire will continue to stalk her unless she acts as she refuses to wait for anyone, even Alec the vampire, to rid her of this pestilence. She plans to stalk her stalker to kill him although even she knows her charms and her allies enhancing her chances are probably not close to the power level of Mad Max.

The third H&W Investigation urban fantasy (see Hunted by the Others and Speak of Temptation; part of the Nocturnal anthology) is a great entry. From the opening scene when a human purebred member of the White Hats points a gun into her face and never slows down as she becomes the pawn in a vampire war and with the White Hats. With vampires, werewolves, White Hat humans and mages seem to all want several pints of Shairra’s blood.

Harriet Klausner

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