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

Great!

This series is awesome. Love the story and the action. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Really weak in comparison to the previous novels.

Struggled to finish it because everything was merely hinted at, but not explored fully. There was much less character building than I like to see. Honestly could've been a short story with the lack of action taken out.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?

What made the experience of listening to Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand the most enjoyable?

In this series, the performance take over and the story simply flows. You can get lost in the whole thing. I great vacation series.... as you lie at the pool, close you eyes, and venture off into a reality created that seems totally plausible.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand?

Kitty & Ben at the drive through Elvis wedding chapel was precious. There were moments when I laughed and moments when I nearly cried. Love the emotion that Ms. Gavin puts into the performance.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were moments that definitely were emotional in this story. Afterall, there is supposed to be a wedding!

Kitty Comes Back Strong

Truth be told, I had given up on Kitty.Spending several hours with her sitting in a cabin in the woods while complaining about writers block and her new late night talk show rival didn't do much for me. But, despite what others have said, I like this book a lot. There is the humor of a Las Vegas wedding and plenty of new mysterious characters. Does that magician really make people disappear in his spooky box? Are those Bengal tigers in the animal show what they seem to be? Who is more scary-- the head vampire of Las Vegas or those people attending the gun show at Kitty's hotel? This book held my interest from start to finish.

Give the Girl(s) a Hand!

Where does Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Ms Vaughn is an entertaining story teller and Ms Gavin a skilled narrator. Couple that with Kitty, the speaks her own mind werewolf who does it with conviction, determination, honesty and compassion; one who is never looking for trouble but never turns away when it finds her... well you've got entertainment with substance, character and cheeky style. This whole series remained true to these qualities without flagging. This installment is no exception. I enjoyed every page and I think you will too. I've read all nine plus the "Kitty's Greatest Hits" (listed as 9.5) and can recommend every one. Ms Vaughn, I hope there are more to come.

What did you like best about this story?

A story with a vulnerable but strong heroin, well thought out plot, and clear character delevopment.

What about Marguerite Gavin’s performance did you like?

Ms Gavin is a talented narrator which never left me wondering which character was speaking. Her interpretation of the characters added a 3-D color for me. She aids the story telling instead of becoming an obstacle or distraction. I wish she were narrating more books. I am more inclined to buy and listen to books which lists her as the narrator.

Pretty good addition to the series :)

3.5-4 stars

This was a pretty good story and addition to the series. Kitty and Ben are engaged and her ailing mother seems determined to guilt her into having the wedding quickly (while her mother's still around to see it...). Kitty and Ben are frustrated by the thought of all the planning and don't really want a big wedding so they decide on the plan to elope to Las Vegas to get married. When Kitty's boss finds out about the trip, he comes up with the idea for her to do a live show that's also on TV while in Vegas. Kitty's a bit frustrated over being expected to work over her wedding weekend but agrees. To placate her mother, Kitty invites her parents to Vegas for the nuptials but no one else.

Things were going to be busy enough with Kitty and Ben's wedding as well as Kitty doing her show but of course other things have to turn up to cause more issues for them. On the paranormal side; there's a magician that appears to be a decent guy but is too mysterious to tell for sure, the vampire master of the city who doesn't really seem to be master of anything, as well as a group of shifters that perform a shifter animal act in Vegas and seem to gain an unhealthy interest in Kitty. On the more mundane side of things there's still some danger since the hotel they're staying in is hosting a gun show and many of the paranormal hunters that Cormic and Ben know are there. Unfortunately, none of them are especially friendly to Kitty and a couple seem to be very interested in taking her out just for the sake of saying they did. Obviously, there's a lot of stuff going on that causes drama and danger. Kitty and Ben stumble through and manage to come out of things alright in the end and then Kitty and Ben head home married and happy to get out of Vegas.

This was a pretty enjoyable story. I still liked Kitty as a heroine but I will say that there were a few times in this book where she seemed to lack her usual intelligence and ran into trouble without thinking at all. I mean she's made some mistakes in judgement before but in this book it just seemed worse. Thankfully, she makes some friends that help her get through things alright. Overall, the story was still pretty good (even with a bit of frustration on my part) and I still liked the characters so I'd recommend it (and the series). :)

Stop being so stupid!

OK, this series is kind of fun at times, but also frustrating at other times. The main character is supposed to be an intelligent person, but she repeatedly make stupid decisions on top of stupid decisions. I found myself repeating over and over “what an idiot!“ She is supposed to be a strong female and she needs to act like one! Ben’s character is supposed to be a smart lawyer, but also makes stupid decisions.

Kitty goes to Las Vegas.

I enjoyed the different characters and that there is a possibility of seeing the Babalonian priestess in a future book.

Renewed my Vows in Vegas Right After Reading this!

Ok, something about the name "Kitty" turned me off this book for about a year, finally I gave into to all the recommendations. I am glad I did. She is funny and so unlucky, it reminds me of Stephanie Plum in Janet Evanovich series, but much much more unlucky. I got hooked quickly and I only have one book left in the series. Each book builds on the last, and average about 7 hours a piece just enough time for Kitty to get herself in trouble and right back out of it again. This is not a deep book but enjoyable just the same. It's light at times, funny, and then serious but not so overwhelming that you can't set it down and come back to it. Its a good light read and the narrator was just perfect for the book, she tells the story in a light enjoyable way, and she has become the voice of Kitty in my mind.

Great werewolf yarn

I really like the Kitty Norville series. The writing is terrific. And you can't go wrong with Marguerite Gavin as narrator. She has a great voice!