"The Good, the Bad, and the Undead" by Kim Harrison (The Hollows, Book 2)


Description:
It's a tough life for witch Rachel Morgan, sexy, independent bounty hunter, prowling the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati for criminal creatures of the night.

She can handle the leather-clad vamps and even tangle with a cunning demon or two. But a serial killer who feeds on the experts in the most dangerous kind of black magic is definitely pressing the limits.

Confronting an ancient, implacable evil is more than just child's play -- and this time, Rachel will be lucky to escape with her very soul.

My Review:

Harrison has made leaps and bounds in improvement with her second effort in the Hollows Series. This second novel improves in character design and pacing, but there were still a few areas that left something to be desired.

The main character is still suffering from an overgrown sense of righteousness, while recognizing her moral dilemmas as part of character progression, the angst is a bit heavy-handed and over played.

The introduction of the FIB characters (Glen and the Captain) and the interplay between the political power of the FIB and the IS is well written and flushed out. Harrison continues to expertly explain the rich context and relationship between regular humans and the Inderlands who share her world. In more character context, I especially enjoyed the strained relationship between Ivy and Rachel. The not so subtle desires of Ivy and Rachel's streak of independence make their relationship volatile and strong. The most annoying new character is Rachel's boyfriend Nick. His actions seem to be pretty sketchy and I can't understand why Rachel seems to not only trust but be attracted to him.

I liked the main plot of the novel, (the mystery of who is killing Ley line witches), aside from Rachel stupidly gunning for Trent the entire time when she has absolutely nothing to back up her ideas with. I also can't believe that the FIB would go along with her vendetta just because she happens to make some tenuous links between the victims and Trent. I have some issues with this area of the novel, but I feel as though the main concept was well thought through. The ending with Piscary also seems a bit lacking in forethought, it seeming to wrap up much too easily.

Overall a pleasant enough read. Reader's of Jim Butcher, CE Murphy and the like will enjoy the urban fantasy and fast paced plot of this novel. For those new to the series I would recommend starting with the first novel. For fans, the books continue to get better. This novel is a 3.5 out of 5.

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