"An intriguing mix of mystery and fantasy"
If you like witches, vampires, pixies, and were-anything,
you'll love this book. While not a mystery in the
traditional sense, there runs through the story the
question: Why does Rachel Morgan's boss single her out to
be fired? In Harrison's world order, the tension between humans and
the Inderlanders (read as preternaturals, you know, the
afore-mentioned vamps, pixies, witches and the like) is
heightened after a virus (cultured in tomatoes of all
things) wiped out almost half the human population in the
world. The Inderlanders who until that time had managed
to live side-by-side with humans now populate the world in
almost equal numbers. In fact, they had kept the economy
thriving in the United States while the humans struggled
to live. In this post-apocalyptic world, the two species
live and work together, but there is always an underlying
tension of distrust. White witch Rachel Morgan is a runner for the Inderland
Security - - she hunts down bad witches and other
miscreant Inderlanders and brings them in before the
humans can. When she fails to bring in a larcenous
leprechaun - - she lets the woman go for a promise of
three wishes - - she is kicked out of the I.S. by Denon,
her boss and a second-class vampire who has always had it
in for her. She sets up a private security business with
Jenks, a pixie, and another former I.S. runner, Ivy, a
living vampire. But for some unknown reason, Denon has put out a hit on
her. To stay alive, she has to have an edge, a way to pay
off the contract on her life. She decides that she needs
to get the goods on a businessman named Trent, who she is
sure is an illegal drug dealer. As she dodges the best contract assassins in the Midwest,
she works feverishly to find the evidence that will save
her life. At the same time, she has to come to terms with
living alongside a blood-thirsty vampire and an over-eager
Pixie and his huge family. Mix in a mysterious human
named Nick and an older witch named Keasley and you have a
rollicking good time and a damn fine read to boot. This looks like it is the first book in a planned series -
- don't miss it!
Reviewed by Moni Draper
Posted June 9, 2004
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