Forever Claimed
Rachel Lee
Harlequin Nocturne, Feb 21 2012, $5.50
ISBN: 9780373618781

Vampire Luc St. Just has not been the same since his claimed mate Natasha died. Some of his kind insists he is insane and he would agree. However, his friend Messenger Investigations, Inc. private investigator Jude Messenger (see Claim The Night) thinks otherwise and has been there for Luc as he grieves his loss and thirsts for vengeance against rogue vampires.

He intrudes when four rogues leave a woman near death. Luc takes her with him, but is stunned when Dani Makar rapidly heals with no need of medical assistance. Dani fears the vampire as the natural enemy of werewolves, even one who cannot shift; but Luc acts differently towards her than what she always believed to be true about the bloodsuckers. As they fall in taboo love, the star-crossed pair must persuade their respective “clans” that each are trusted good guys, which goes against the natural order of life; while the evil rogues stalk Dani to finish the job and Jude for interfering.

The third Claimed Messenger romantic urban fantasy is a fabulous paranormal starring two courageous souls in forbidden love. Dani’s deep rooted instinctive and learned racism against the vampire species enhances a delightful thriller as evil stalks the duet who may find themselves with no allies due to the “unnatural” alliance between vamps and shifters. This is great work by a top gun author.

Harriet Klausner

Burned
J.F. Lewis
Pocket, Jan 31 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9781451651867

Eric Courtney the vampire wonders how killing one evil vampire ruler could cause such sh*tty chaos in Void City. His Mouser Talbot explained many time over the past year that it is easier to criticize the opposition than to rule. Still Eric in spite of his tumultuous tsuris as the city’s leader, would kill again; as Lord Phillip, the twisted late city ruler, deserved to die for his assault on Courtney’s adopted lunatic daughter Greta. Now by default he is the ruler of a lunacy ridden Void City as the riffraff has risen to the surface with Phil’s demise.

Responsibility sucks, but it is time for to begin the Big Plan. First is to kill immortal VCPD Captain Stacey the crooked Mouser running unlawful enforcement due to a deal with the Mages Guild. That is if Eric can remember not to step out of the squad car into the sun as his Alzheimer’s syndrome can make him forget to stay out of the sun.. He orders Stacey to leave his hole and meet him at a scene where many cops lay comatose thanks to his Eric’s mage Magbidion. Step two is to place Greta as sheriff; her crazed credo is to kill first and ask questions afterward. The final transformation is hell breaks loose in Void City as Lord Eric demands loyalty or else. That’s just the job; his personal life is even more screwed up with family curses and cursed females.

The latest Void City fantasy (see Crossed, Revamped and Staked) is a fabulous satirical noir starring an antihero whose attitude switches from bad ass leave me alone to bad ass I’m in charge. Fans will enjoy his “transformation” while he deals with myriad of paranormal species with demons always lurking in the gut.

Harriet Klausner

Legend
Marie Lu
Putnam, Nov 29 2011, $17.99
ISBN: 9780399256752

The Republic of America has twenty million citizens and seems to be at constant cold and hot war with its neighbors the Colonies. The laws are strictly enforced regardless of economic and social placement though the elite have all the special advantages and privileges.

From a highly prominent affluent family, fifteen year old June is mentored to become a member of the inner most military leadership. However, her fast track to the top is derailed when her brother Captain Metias is murdered while officially hunting for criminal teenager Day, the number one most wanted person in the Republic, who, in spite of security video cameras all over Los Angeles, his face remains a mystery. Commander Jameson claims Day killed June’s sibling. She vows to avenge her brother’s murder.

Although the High Noon encounter goes the way one would expect even with a fascinating twist, this is a superb futuristic dystopian police procedural. The storyline is fast-paced as readers will appreciate the teenage chess match between the elusive felon and the obsessed soldier; as checkmate is an intriguing spin. Marie Lu provides a fabulously exciting thriller starring two teens from polar opposite sides of the track.

Harriet Klausner

Claimed by a Vampire
Rachel Lee
Harlequin Nocturne, Jan 24 2012, $5.50
ISBN: 9780373618767

Writer Yvonne Dupuis moves into her new apartment, but feels uncomfortable as she believes a demon stalks her. Fearful she hires Messenger Investigations, Inc. private investigator Jude Messenger to protect her. Jude assigns investigator Creed Preston the vampire to keep the client safe.

Creed wonders who will keep Yvonne safe from him as his olfactory senses send his brain messages of desire from her elixir. Still he knows deep in his gut he would die to keep this mortal he wants safe from harm including from him. However, Creed and Jude miscalculate the totality of the threat wrought by the target’s odious former boyfriend, as the demon who claimed the writer has allies as evil as he is.

The latest Messenger Investigations, Inc. romantic urban fantasy (see Claim the Night) is a wonderful thriller starring two strong lead characters supported by Jude who seems never afraid. Yvonne is great as a bewildered frightened human while Creed is a terrific tormented vampire. The evil and his malevolent horde enhance a delightful paranormal romantic suspense as Yvonne learns the meaning of Claimed by a Vampire.

Harriet Klausner

Borrowed Heart
Linda Lamberson
LAOL, Dec 2 2011, $8.99
ISBN: 9780615498768

The psychic Madame Sasha tells Evie Sanders things about herself and her family very few people know. She also warns her that she has been marked with The Curse of Three, which will include two near death experiences and something worse. Evie awakens from a bad dream that seemed so real because she met Sasha two years ago.

After class, Quinn Harrison introduces himself to Evie and asks for her notes from a session he missed. He asks her to come to a party, but she is dating her Michigan boyfriend Ryan Walker though they are apart as she attends IU and he goes to Illinois. Still Evie is attracted to Quinn so she and her two BFFs (Lisa and Rachel) attend the party. However, due to a drunk, Evie dies in a car accident after seeing Ryan with another woman in Champagne. Five days later she awakens to a Peter informing her that this is no longer Bloomington and he will guide her in her transition into being a rare chosen Shepherd to help humans. As she learns the rigid Rules, Evie has one problem with obedience, Quinn.

Book One of the Evie Sanders series is a terrific romantic urban fantasy starring a fascinating heroine who at sixteen realized she had a gift and welcomed it rather than running from it. Evie holds the entertaining storyline focused with help from her mentor and her beloved. However, what makes this strong opening act work is the unique Lamberson mythos that sub-genre fans will appreciate and want more.

Harriet Klausner

Apocalypse To Go
Katharine Kerr
Daw, Feb 7 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780756407094

Across the multiverse, there are infinite earths with many containing people who fight to keep Chaos off their respective plane. to stop worlds colliding. On our earth, the top secret Agency consists of psychics whose mission is to prevent the chaos from entering the orb.

Trans-word enforcement organization TWIXT wants to liaison with the Agency. They vigorously recruit Apocalypse Squad Israeli Interpol agent Ari Nathan. His lover Agency operative Nola O’Grady learns her father in jail on Earth 5, a horrible place but not as horrendous as earth 3, which was destroyed by radiation. Nola must go to 3 because her brothers (world-walker Michael and finder Sean), in a failed attempt to save their dad, are in prison in a grotesque San Fran; a place that is a dark, gritty and filled radiation. Accompanied by Nathan and Spare 14, she travels to 3 to rescue her siblings and with bit of luck her father.

The latest O’Grady dark urban fantasy (see License to Ensorcell and Water To Burn) is a terrific thriller placed within an urban fantasy. Psychic powers are prevalent on some of the many earths. Nola and her family are strong psis whose extrasensory skills along with others make the paranormal seem real. However, Earth 3 makes the tale work as a grim world in which a Capone like individual rules amidst the radioactive poison.

Harriet Klausner

Deep Sky
Patrick Lee
Harper, Dec 27 2011, $7.99
ISBN 9780061958793

President Garner is on TV giving a speech to the nation from the Oval office when the screens went black. A missile strike hit the White House killing POTUS and blowing the roof off the facility. Vice President Holt is given the oath of office while flying back from Los Angeles to DC. In the Wyoming desert at the most secure facility in the world, agents of ultra-Top Secret Tangent discuss who is responsible. One of the operatives mentions the Archer Air Force defense program of missiles hidden in civilian areas as a last deterrent against nuclear strikes. Agent Travis Chase realizes what is implied; the military assassinated their Commander-in-Chief.

Soon after the assassination of the president, enemy operatives mount a precision assault on Tangent. The target is to take control of the Breach pathway to and from another dimension. Both incidents required powerful backing. His lover Paige Campbell and technological expert Bethany Stewart are running out of time in spite of having all the time in the world to uncover who is behind the unmentionable that dates back to the Reagan administration yet the truth lies in the near future.

The third Chase thriller (see The Breach and Ghost Country) is a great twisting tale that grips the audience from the moment POTUS is killed and never let’s go until after a climatic stunning finish. Faster than the show 24, Chase is a sort of Jack Bauer but in a science fiction universe. Readers will relish this exciting entry in a strong trilogy.

Harriet Klausner

Horizon
Sophie Littlefield
Luna, Jan 24 2012, $14.95
ISBN 9780373803422

California remains a wasteland overrun by the Beaters whose cunning has exponentially increased since the zombie wave began (see Aftertime). Survivor Cass Dollar, who once was a Beater, and her daughter Ruthie reside in New Eden where life remains hard for the living. Cass has two men she cares about, comatose Smoke and Dor, who is married to another woman and has a daughter; the latter of whom Cass helped rescue (see Rebirth).

As New Eden suffers from Beaters’ assaults and dwindling supplies, men on horseback arrive. Their leader Mathew claims there is a passage to a better Eden in the north. Cass and the others jump at the opportunity to relocate to a New Eden so begin a deadly sojourn led by Mayhew.

The third post-apocalyptic Aftertime urban horror fantasy is a fast-paced grim entry once Mayhew arrives to disrupt the order with a new dream. The dark Pacific landscape remains nightmarish as beaters are everywhere and civilization no where. While some like defrocked leader Dana wonders if Mayhew is the serpent leading them to their doom, others like Cass finds a renewal of hope in the newcomer’s assertion. Although the storyline starts slow, readers will relish the latest Dollar adventures in the nightmarish Littlefield realm.

Harriet Klausner

Dark Victory
Michele Lang
Tor, Jan 17 2012, $25.99
ISBN: 9780765330451

On September 1, 1939 Hitler begins the blitzkrieg destruction of Poland. In Budapest, Gisi the Jewish seer saw the Nazis’ deadly march over a month ago. Her sister Magda the Lazarus Witch tries to bind Asmodel the demon to her will while Gisi fears the repercussions. Magda’s beloved fallen angel Raziel supports her efforts as he knows the allies will need magic on their side to counter the dark forces allied with Hitler in order to save the Polish Jews from the Final Solution incantation sacrifice.

Magda leads her small troupe into Poland. However, she finds her cause in dire straits as Nazi werewolves and demons attack her and anyone in their path. Worse, the camps concentrate more evil power into the hands of Hitler and his demonic master by channeling death and torture. Hitler supporter Vampirrat orders Magda’s leader anti-Nazi Count Bathory the vampire to Berlin for a public staking. Magda may be too late to stop Hitler, but her hopes reside with finding the Book of Raziel arcane spells.

The sequel to super Lady Lazarus is an engaging urban alternate historical fantasy in which World War II is fought by mortals and paranormal. The story line is fast-paced with the various supernatural species (fighting on both sides) seemingly real and the combat with them and mortals vivid. As a master manipulator that Machiavelli would have admired, Asmodel somewhat steals the plot from the inexperienced heroine who logically works through her options to the best course only to impulsively act otherwise. Raziel and Bathory provide little to the mix except limited support and Gisi trembles in fear as WWII explodes on the continent.

Harriet Klausner

The Mortal Bone
Marjorie M. Liu
Ace, Dec 27 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9781937007188

Like her bloodline going back ten millennia, demon hunter Maxine Kiss carries her five “boys” as tattoos on her body, which serves as prison for these Reaper Kings who if freed would devour the world. She and her soulmate Grant the Lightbringer escort Bryon the teenage to a “safe house” once belonging to Maxine’s mom in Texas.

However, a possessed woman arrives giving Maxine a plastic bowling bag of which the visitor says someone in her dream told her to deliver it. Inside is a crystal skull that has the demon within the woman and the five on Maxine’s skin clamoring to go to it. The connection between her boys and her is severed; they are totally free to bring hell on earth unless Maxine can somehow reconnect with them.

The fourth Hunter Kiss urban fantasy (see A Wild Light, The Iron Hunt and Darkness Calls) is a great thriller that is action-packed but driven by the aftereffect of the broken link as Marjorie M. Liu gets deep into the psyche of the heroine. Maxine has mixed emotions of being liberated but in some ways misses the bond that has been part of her for a long time. She also feels guilt and responsibility to prevent her boys from returning to their Reaper King days; as nothing short of the end of the world is at stake.

Harriet Klausner