Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker and vampire hunter for hire. But lately instead of just slaying vampires, she’s been working for them. The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to Leo Pellissier, the Master of the City of New Orleans–and Jane’s boss–they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, Leo sends an envoy with the best bodyguard money can buy: Jane Yellowrock. But when a group of local campers is attacked by something supernatural, Jane goes from escort to investigator. It’s up to her to keep peace in the region, and unless she wants to face up to very angry vampire Master, Jane will have to work overtime to find the killer. It’s a good thing she’s worth every penny
Words to the wise; do not start this series with this book. This is the fourth book in The Skinwalker Series featuring Jane Yellowrock. There are also some short stories in e-book format.
Jane is a Skinwalker of Cherokee lineage. She can take different animal shapes as long as she has the DNA profile, usually made into a necklace. Jane is a tough, motorcycle riding Vampire hunter. She’s tough but loves to dance. She will go to the wall for you.
Jane’s adventures continue where Mercy Blade left off. Be prepared to start this book early so you can finish it without staying up half the night, as I did. At 2:30 am, the eyes just would not stay open any longer. The action is non-stop and you can not predict what is going to happen next. While there are some of the same characters as in previous books, Ms Hunter introduces new ones who Jane knew before she went to New Orleans. This story provides new background on Jane, her friendships, and earlier life.
While the action is pretty fast, Ms Hunter paints the area and scenery with incredible detail. The descriptions make you want to visit and explore the area in depth. As with her previous books, there seem to be many stories within stories going on. And there are. This is not a quick, fun, beach read. It’s almost as if you’re matching wits with the author to see where the story is going. This IS my kind of book. Please don’t try skimming pages as you just might miss something important down the line.
Since it’s been a year from the Mercy Blade release, I did go back and re-read it. I read a lot of books in a year and didn’t want to find myself lost. I’m so glad I took this route. The action starts right away and I would have been racking my brain to remember exactly what happened in the previous book and the impact it would have on Raven Cursed. Additionally, I love the way Ms Hunter combines Jane’s character with “The Beast”. With the first book, I thought it might be confusing but now I am used to having “The Beast” interject into certain situations. It adds a whole new depth to Jane’s character to actually hear “The Beast’s” thoughts and reactions and how Jane deals with them. It’s two main characters in one.
With this book, I did something I never do. I only read at night after DH has turned in. Since I couldn’t stay awake any longer, I got up, had coffee and breakfast and then grabbed my Kindle to finish it. I just couldn’t wait any longer. It was that good. While not ending in a cliffhanger, Ms Hunter has left a wide gap for future books. I am so looking forward to the next installment. (Hopefully, we won’t have to wait a year, hint, hint!!)
My rating: 4 1/2 Stars. (A caveat here, I almost never rate books at 5 Stars because there are so many more to read and one never knows)
Happy reading and enjoy!
