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

Ok but not the best of the series

If you could sum up Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand in three words, what would they be?

Not the series best

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Tantalizing if a bit unsatisfying. The Long Game comes back around to tantalize us with
where the series is taking us in future books. I enjoy the relationship between Kitty and Ben. Being an attorney myself, I like Ben as a coolheaded partner to Kitty's trouble causing curiousity and frankness. This was a nice continuation of their partnership but the actual story line was a little too creepy for my taste.

Which scene was your favorite?

Any of the number of meetings with Ben's friends in the werewolf bounty hunter convention taking place in Kitty's Vegas hotel. I enjoyed the dialogues between the werewolf pair and their natural sworn frenemies.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Ziegfried and Roy in shapeshifter/vampire Land.

Any additional comments?

I've been slowly working my way through the series and this is probably my least favorite so far. There are important elements included in the book but somehow the storyline as a whole didn't grab me so I could give it a true thumbs up. Maybe it's the Ziegfried and Roy storyline (I've always found those two a little creepy in real life, and kind of a joke) but I just didn't feel as satisfied at the end as I have with the other books in the series I've finished so far. I really like this series, the main characters, and the narrator always does a great job. Looking forward to getting more credits to spend on the 2 books I think I've missed.

No spoilers

I liked this one a lot. MS Vaughn did a fantastic job as she always dose. This one had a lot of action with a bit of mystery. I even chuckled here and there. MS Gavin is the best narrator. She Brings the book to life like no other each character gets a unique voice in her smooth voice. Highly recommend this series. I also recommend you listen to it. You'll experience the best narrator there is.

Enough with the whining...

So I very much enjoyed the first 4 books in the series. I will go ahead and listen to the next one, but this one just about made me lose my cookies. I dislike the characters in Kitty's family, the sister, the mother....omg all stereotypically irritating people with Kitty as the willing victim of their disfunction....UGH. . With that as a backdrop, the story felt chaotic and not really put together. Strong narration as always by M Gavin.

Classic Kitty

Would you consider the audio edition of Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand to be better than the print version?

Some books I like to read, some are just better in audio. The Kitty series are just great in audio.

What did you like best about this story?

In a world of werewolves and vampires, Carrie Vaughn tells a tale of romance and mystery and makes you feel their world is real.

What does Marguerite Gavin bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Marguerite Gavin's performance brings Kitty and the rest to life; the correct inflections at the right time. The reader makes all the difference in an audio book and Ms. Gavin does a great job.

Any additional comments?

If you like Kitty, you will love this one too. New characters, new settings keep the storyline fresh. Always a fun listen.

A bit chaotic!

This is a good story but it feels incomplete, like a PART I. The characters are not as developed as her other books. Kitty is still a great main character and this about her trip to Vegas to get married to Ben....add a radio show, her parents, and Vegas chaos intertwined with were-tigers, vampires, bounty hunters and a poker tournament. It just didn't flow as well as the other books but you need to read it because the next book picks up where this left off. It was OK, not great!

Viva Las Vegas!

“Just once, curiosity wasn’t going to get this Kitty.”
This was exactly what I expected in the Vegas installment for the series: more hijinks and humor.
I loved all the colorful characters of dubious intent.

“Secrets don’t scare me, they just piss me off.”
This one felt like a much lighter From Dusk to Dawn, with a an ‘all that glitters isn’t gold’ moral.

“I had vowed not to perpetrate pink taffeta on anyone.”
Kitty’s elopement played out in predictable train wreck fashion and I was there for it.

LOVE Kitty and her adventures!!

LOVE Kitty's adventures and this one definitely did not disappoint. Story took full advantage of all Vegas has to offer, shows, gambling, restaurants, themed hotels, conventions and of course wedding chapels! It was fun to see where she would go next in "sin city"..

Pretty Good Installment

Kitty's back - and getting married to her pack mate and lawyer in Vegas... if they can avoid being kidnapped by the mob, being shot at by supernatural bounty-hunters, and being sacrificed to an ancient god by feline lycanthropes. What a honeymoon!

After the very clear story arc in the first four books, I always struggle a little bit with Dead Man's Hand (I think this is my third read). Not that the story isn't good; it is. It's just that I'm not sure where it's supposed to be going. I also wonder if the first thing a new werewolf alpha would really do after a takeover is leave pack and territory.

However, this book does introduce one of my very favorite characters; Odysseus Grant. Grant is an old-style stage magician in Vegas, complete with top hat and tails and all the classic illusionist tricks like scarves and rings and rabbits in hats. But his real purpose in Vegas is a bit more interesting. Grant is a guardian, tracking old-style dark magic, like the cult of Tiamat and an old portal to a Lovecraftian realm. I would SO love some stories about Grant; he's mysterious and enigmatic and oh-so interesting. There have to be some good stories there. Vaughn writes a lot of short stories; I'll have to go scour her website to see if any of them have been about Grant.

I also like the observations Kitty makes about her relationship with Ben. She describes that love "snuck up" on them; it didn't hit them like a massive explosion. Their wolves mated first, and then their human sides came later. I really like how Vaughn writes a realistic relationship for Kitty and Ben; they fight, they aren't attached at the hip, Ben's not an "alpha" male as we see in some books--he lets Kitty be herself and do her thing. They worry about each other, but they don't limit each other. It's a really refreshing take on relationships in popular culture.

Overall, I like this book, but not quite as much as the first four. But that's okay, 'cause there are a lot more books to come. :)

Purchased. Review courtesy of onebooktwo| one book, two reviews.

Love it!

Love it!

For hevens sake just kill Ben off already!

Ugggghhhhhhhh, why couldn't Ben just die!!! I hate, hate them together! it is just ridiculous they ever even became anything other than client and lawyer. there was absolutely nothing between them from the start, then suddenly "mates" ?? it's so ridiculous!!