Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand

Kitty Norville, Book 5

By: Carrie Vaughn

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Already the alpha pair of Denver's werewolf pack, Kitty and Ben now plan to tie the knot human-style by eloping to Las Vegas. Kitty is looking forward to sipping froufrou drinks by the pool and doing her popular radio show on live television, but her hotel is stocked with werewolf-hating bounty hunters.

Elsewhere on the Strip, an old-school magician might be wielding the real thing; the vampire community is harboring a dark secret; and the irresistible star of a suspicious animal act is determined to seduce Kitty. Sin City has never been so wild, and this werewolf has never had to fight harder to save not only her wedding but her very life.

Listen to more titles in the Kitty Norville series.

©2009 Carrie Vaughn, LLC (P)2010 Tantor

A good series

This is a good book although the plot is a little too obvious. Entertaining

Great Series!

I love this series and the narrator really brings Kitty's character to life. This was probably my least favorite in the series, but it is still a great addition.

I love the whole series

id recommend to any one love the series. this book series helps me get through work every day. love it keep up the amazing work.

Kitty opts for a Vegas wedding

I’m a big Kitty Norville fan: she’s witty and brave and the books have serious content, delivered with a light touch. Normally I’m cheering for Kitty to win the day and sad that there are no more pages left to read. Yet with “Kitty And The Dead Man’s Hand”, I found myself going “Is that it?” and “What was Kitty thinking”.

The story seemed promising enough: Kitty and Ben, already mated for life as an Alpha pair in a werewolf pack, decide to make things official in the human world and get married. To avoid the fuss of a big wedding, Kitty decides to get married in Vegas and her boss uses this as an opportunity to get her to do her radio show live on TV. He also books Kitty and Ben into a hotel that is running a gun show, complete with silver bullet carrying bounty hunter. Add in a magician who reads H P Lovecraft, a Vampire Master only interested in partying and a bizarre tribe of werecats and it should have been quite a ride.

Instead, I found it unsatisfying.

I’ve been to Vegas a few times, I even renewed my wedding vows there, and I thought Carrie Vaughn caught the atmosphere of the place well, so that wasn’t the problem.

I think the problem was Kitty. She’s on her own for most of the book for various reasons, even though she brought Ben and her mother and father to Vegas with her. She stumbles around getting into trouble and mostly waiting for someone else to get her out of it. She gives little thought to her family and only a little more to Ben. Her relationship with the BDSM-loving werecats didn’t convince me. The way two of bounty hunters reacted to her was also hard to swallow. The marriage, when it did finally occur, seemed crass and narcissitically self-indulgent.

Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood, or maybe I didn’t get the appeal of all those bare-chested young men, but I just couldn’t settle in to this book. In every other book, Kitty has grown and developed. In this book, she seems to take a holiday from herself.

Oh, and I still don’t have a clue what the title means.

Anyway, I hope I get the real Kitty back in book six.

I Love Kitty!

This is another great installment of the Kitty Norville series. Compared to others, this book seemed to be a set-up for the next book. That doesn't mean it's not every bit as good as the others in the series. Don't jump to the conclusion that the series has lost it's momentum, and don't skip this one. Loved listening to it, and am off to download Kitty #6.

Not my favorite, but I can see the need for it...

My rating: Teen (violence)
Favorite character/s: Brenda/Evan

Kitty and Ben are planning a wedding, but werewolves hate crowds.... Solution? Vegas, baby! The whole idea seems ideal, until: 1) Mom and Dad want to come along, 2) Kitty's boss wants her to do a televised radio show from Vegas, and 3) Rick wants her to deliver a message (supposedly an introduction) to the Vegas master vamp Dom. Ben agrees, as long as Kitty will let him gamble all he wants. Sexy blue wedding dress? Check! Kicky heels? Check! Sexy fiancé? Check? Mom and Dad? Check????

So far so good, and I was all in, but the storyline gets a little muddled and far fetched once they get to Vegas. (I know, I know, it's a werewolf story with vampires thrown in, it's supposed to be farfetched, right?). The problem isn't so much that we start dealing with the possibility of more "otherness", it's that so much is thrown at us at once. All in one book. All in one town, and all at the same time. Some of the story breaks down.

What happens to Ben? We find out at the end, but even that explanation is muddled by Evan's part in it. Why does there have to be an "Evan's part" to begin with? It made more sense without Evan's contribution. Don't get me wrong; I'm very glad that Evan and Brenda are in the book, and I hope they show up in other books, but the whole "what happened to Ben" part was really confusing, and I'm not sure it really moved the story except as a plot device. It was just too convenient.

Then there's the vampire Dom. He's just odd. His speech is odd, his mannerisms are odd, and his whole network is odd. Why did Rick send her to Dom? Does Rick suspect something? I hope we find out that Rick suspected something, otherwise his reasons for sending Kitty to Dom are a little...I'm not sure. I'm hoping this one works toward the long game, and wasn't just another plot device.

The Vegas lycanthrope debacle was an interesting introduction for a different supernatural development, but I wasn't as fond of the way these lycanthropes were introduced. I don't know, I guess it just put my hackles up. And there was the magician... I'm intrigued by him, and I hope he shows up in another book. I also hope we get to see what the backstory is between him and the lycanthropes in Vegas. And the priestess; I guess we'll find out more about her in another book.

That's my point though, this book wasn't that long, but the story went in so many directions, it feels like the whole story was muddled. Where was the buildup? And what about the...cliffhanger is the wrong word, but it's obviously a lead-in to another book. One of the things I really liked about these books was their standalone storylines. Not that each book doesn't need some sort of backstory after the first one, but the plots are "whole" somehow. This entire book feels more like a plot device for future books. Not that I haven't already purchased those other books, but I hope they don't turn out the same way. I really enjoyed the previous episodes, and I want to enjoy future ones just as much. I'll chalk this one up to "world building", and hope for the best.

As always, Marguerite Gavin delivers a fine performance.

I love this series

I like this series. I am happy that Kitty's character has developed but I can't believe how naive she still is about some things. I love the world that Ms Vaughn has created of all the were-shifters and the magical and folklore element. It's really cool. I just do not understand that even though the character is strong she also seems a bit cowardly about stuff. I guess thats what you call courageous. Being scared to do things but doing them anyway for the greater good. Then she is ridiculously judgmental about some things. So I am torn between the excitement of whats going to happen next while admiring her character to being annoyed by her sometimes wide-eyed narrow-mindness. Anyway. I still love this series and am getting ready to read the next one. I may have to take a break though because this particular book made me sooo annoyed with her. Nah. Who am I kidding. I am reading the rest of this series right now. lol.

Good story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this entire series to my friends, Kitty is a great heroine, she's funny, smart and a genuinely nice person...she cant help it if someones alway trying to kill her....lol

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kitty of course...

Which scene was your favorite?

when Kitty and Ben finally get married....I was happy for her...nothing comes easy for Kitty...she deserves a happy ending!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Maybe...but I didn't.....lol

Any additional comments?

I love this series and am happy it was on sale....I bought all of them...and cant wait to read them all....Kitty is a very likeable MC....give this series a try....I highly recommend it!!!

I liked this series

This is, in my opinion, the turning point book. All of the books in the series are great, however, this book is where things start getting interesting.

bad reader AMAZING book!

I really dont like the woman reading. her male voices are horrible. each one sounds like shes doing an Obama impression