La Noche de la Bruja Muerta

This review is also featured at Behind the Pages: Dead Witch Walking

In Cincinnati, the Inderlander Security polices all supernatural creatures of the city. Rachel Morgan is a runner for the I.S. and she hates every minute of it. Any job she does for the I.S. is either cursed with bad luck, or intern level work. She's a damn good runner, but her boss refuses to acknowledge it. It's time for something to change. When her latest job is to catch a leprechaun for tax evasion she calls it quits. Glad to see her go, her boss never suspects that his best runner, Ivy Tamwood will quit alongside Rachel. Furious, he puts a price on Rachel's head. With the help of Ivy and a four foot tall pixie named Jenks, Rachel has to dodge the I.S. assassins. The only way to make them stop is to buy out the contract she broke by quitting. While Ivy might have the cash to quit, Rachel is penniless. Rachel sets her sights on Trent Kalamack, a millionaire in the public eye who runs the Brimstone drug trade on the side. But no one has been able to prove his hands are dirty. If Rachel can pin him down, she'll be home free.

Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks have been a dynamic set of characters since I first read The Hollows series years ago. Returning to The Hollows to start the series from the beginning is just as fun as it was the first time around. The three just work well together. Ivy, the one who needs a set plan of action and multiple fail-safes in place. Rachel, the one who rushes into things with a half ass plan, and wings it. And Jenks, the wiseass companion who makes sure to never let them live down said mistakes. Sure they may bungle through some jobs, and mess up plenty of times, but you can't say it isn't entertaining to experience it with them.

Kim Harrison has created a vivid urban fantasy world that is only scratching the surface of the Hollows in this first novel. Even though I already know what happens, I found myself immersed in her world and chuckling at the antics of the three characters. This time around I did notice there is a lot of world building stuffed into the first novel. This might slow some people down, but it lays the groundwork for future novels to take off right from the start. Trust me, wading through the information dumps is worth it.

I can't wait to start the next!