A Perfect Blood (Hallows #10)
by Kim Harrison
Narrated by Marguerite Gavin
LENGTH 16 hrs and 48 minsRELEASE DATE 02-21-12
Program Type Audiobook
PUBLISHER Harper Audio
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
New York Times best-selling author Kim Harrison returns to the Hollows with the electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed Pale Demon!
Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the I.S. and the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: a human hate group is trying to create its own demons to destroy all Inderlanders, and to do so, it needs her blood.
She's faced vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more, but humanity itself might be her toughest challenge yet.
Review:
Rachel Morgan was often in trouble as a witch but the Inderland Security, her former employer, is even more reluctant to trust her now that she is a day-walking demon. Rachel works as a private investigator enforcer with her good friends, cool and sexy vampire, Ivy, and mini-sized with the heart of a giant pixie, Jenks. She also gets help from wealthy business man and Elf, Trent and Rachel’s demon teacher, Algaliarept.
Rachel and her team have often been engaged by the human-run FIB (Federal Inderland Bureau) to assist in their cases with non humans, including vampires, witches, werewolves, demons and others. This time they are brought in to help capture a human hate group, HAPA, who wants to wipe out the Inderlanders. The group is injecting witches with rosewood blood in an effort to turn them into demons. Unfortunately the experiments have left behind hideously mutated, dead bodies.
As she often does, Rachel, rushes in without a good plan and backup. This is particularly dangerous as she is wearing a bracelet that protects her from being pulled into the Ever After but also prevents her from accessing many of her magic powers through ley line use. She eventually gets caught and caged with the latest experiment candidate. Capturing Rachel gives the group a bonus of true demon blood and they are able to successfully turn Winona into a demon who looks like she will survive the mutations.
Rachel and Winona must escape to save themselves and to keep the group from using more of her blood. Every time it looks like the HAPA criminals are caught they slip through the net. Soon Rachel suspects that they are getting inside information.
Ms. Harrison does a good job covering the backstory and characters so someone new to the series could jump in, although they would miss all the good action and Rachel mishaps from prior books. Not to mention a new reader would miss her failed romances and the nuances of her relationship with Trent and several of the other characters. I enjoy the action in this series even with Rachel’s misadventures and tendency to rush into trouble. I like the friendship with David, her werepack 'leader', and I love Jenks and his vibrant vitality and love. I am very curious to see what's in store for Rachel as she faces the dangers in the next book and as she continues to try to resist her feelings for Trent.
Audio Notes: Ms. Gavin does a fabulous job distinguishing the characters. She is able to get a snarky, Pixie voice for Jenks and a deep, slow voice for the gargoyle, Biz. She inflects the nervousness of Nina the new vampire as well as the arrogance when she is possessed by Felix, the old vampire. Ms. Gavin adds intensity and mood, fear and weariness, with her excellent reading. I have listened to all the books in this series and I do enjoy the voices!
This title was in my Audible Library and I pulled it to read as a TBR.
