Sherrie Super

This is the third book in the Monster Hunter series, and I was surprised to find it my favorite so far. After two books narrated by a different main character, I was concerned that I wouldn't like the main focus shifting to another character -- Earl, the head of Monster Hunters, Inc., and King of the Werewolves.

But this book was AWESOME. It was action-packed, had a touch of romance, had sympathetic heroes and even a particularly interesting villian/hero of questionable motivations. This story and its characters were complex, and simple all at the same time, with enough nuggets of humor to release the tension just when you think the story is getting too tense to handle.

If you haven't read the first two books, you'd still be fine starting with this one. It stands alone in its pursuit of kick-butt monstery fun, assuming your idea of monstery fun is guns and gory mayhem in a desolate, northern Michigan town where the undead are running amok.

I was a little concerned about delving into a Spenser book written by someone other than the late, great Robert B. Parker, but I'm so glad he did. Ace Atkins captured the literary voice of Spenser perfectly. The story held my interest, the banter was top-notch, and Susan-worshipping didn't take center-stage. As always, Joe Mantegna's narration was perfection.

Another nice thing -- this book seemed meatier than recent Spenser books, which seemed to be getting shorter and shorter. I hope this won't be the last venture into Spenserland by Ace. Keep 'em coming, I say!

I really hate giving bad reviews, but I found this book difficult to finish. The main character spends a good chunk of the book whining that her life was saved (because she was made into a vampire, rather than left to die), and most of the male characters sound like William Shatner, due to the odd pauses in their speech inflections. If it were just one character, I might think it was a neat way to distinguish them apart, but more than one was a little over the top.

Also, I know that vampire stories require a certain suspension of disbelief, but there were so many spectacular skills attributed to the two main women in the story -- one was a spectactularly gifted vampire while the other was a level-4 witch, even though she didn't know it. I love larger-than-life characters, but somehow this just didn't ring authentic to me. I also found little sympathy for the main character, who just happened to be a tall, beautiful, trust-fund baby, who prior to becoming a vampire was a perpetual student without any apparent real-life challenges, aside from angst against her overly successful parents. She wasn't a scrappy underdog, that's for sure.

From reading the other reviews, I know I'm in the minority, so it's probably simply a matter of taste. There was nothing technically wrong with the book. Maybe it simply wasn't my cup of tea.

The first in the Night Huntress series, this book kicks off the saga in butt-kicking style, with lots of laughs, action, and romance. The series stars half-vampire Kat and her vampire lover, Bones, who also happens to be a bounty hunter/hitman. In this book, they join forces to combat a white-slavery racket led by slimeballs of both the vampire and human variety.

I see that other reviewers have expressed disappointment in Bones' low-class accent in the narration, and I admit, it threw me off at first because in romantic books, the strong male English lead usually sounds more like Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, and less like a street-urchin. But the more I listened, the more I thought the narrator's accent for Bones was absolutely perfect. Bones doesn't have a upper-crust background, and the written wording and slang definitely suggests a cockney accent, so the narrator's take on it seemed to fit Bones' personality, especially once you accept the fact that Bones isn't, and never will be a Darcy. Why? Because Darcy's much too civilized in comparison, even if he is fantasy-worthy in his own right. But I digress...

Kat is a strong female lead, but she's also vulnerable, loyal, and innocent in more ways than she realizes. Oh yeah, and she's got lots of snark when the need arises. I listened to a good chunk of this with a big ol' grin on my face, even after the first time.