Dead Witch Walking - Fantasy Book Review

          This is the story about Rachel Morgan, a bounty hunter for the I.S., who decides to leave her agency and go on her own.   When she tells her friend Ivy, a vamp, and Jenks, a pixy, that she is leaving, they want to come with her.  Unfortunately, once Rachel and her friends leave, they draw the ire of her agency and they are determined to kill her for making this decision. 

            The pace of the book is very slow and while there seems to be some conflict with Rachel’s agency, much of the book focus’ on the problems between Ivy and Rachel.  Ivy seems like she wants to trust Rachel but Rachel is scared of her since she is a vampire.  She relies on Jenks, her pixy, to keep her out of trouble.  

            In order to get the bounty off her head, Rachel decides to go after Trent Kalamack, who is a congressman.  Evidently, Rachel wants to build a case of murder against Trent as well as his stealing nuclear weapons.  This is about the point where the suspense picks up but more than halfway through the book. 

            At that point, the suspense picks up tremendously being that Rachel has learned how to turn herself into animals such as a mink.  This only leads her to trouble in the worst way and that’s when the suspense really begins in the story.  

            Another point of suspense is when she meets a new friend named Nick and they have a confrontation in a library with a demon.  That battle is also intense but once it’s over, the book seems to lag again until the end. 

          Being that this is a fantasy book about a witch who is able to turn herself into other creatures seems like a fun read even though you never see her cast any spells.  Since the pace of the book is slow, much of the book is build on Rachel’s relationships with Jenks and Ivy, leaving a plot and small parts of suspense mixed in the story. 

           Part of the time in the beginning is the conflict is Rachel’s relationship with Ivy and Ivy suggests she read a book that will tell her more about her.  If that isn’t enough, Rachel is supposed to smell a certain way to keep Ivy at bay.  

           There were too many parts of the book that just didn’t move well for me.  While there is some pulse pounding suspense, I find myself not giving this book more than three stars for that reason.  Not ready to compare Kim Harrison to Jim Butcher but I liked the book and the genre enough that I would continue to read other books in the series.  


Ron Hummer