Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn

Fire, brimstone, and bad mojo anywhere she turns. Kitty’s in for a wild ride as she faces an enemy that strikes from the shadows and hunts both her and her pack.

Title:  Kitty Raises Hell
Author:  Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville Book 06
Publish Date:  March 1, 2009
Genre:  Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.

Kitty and Ben flee The City That Never Sleeps, thinking they were finished with the dangers there, but the sadistic cult of lycanthropes and their vampire priestess have laid a curse on Kitty in revenge for her disrupting their rituals. Starting at the next full moon, danger and destruction the form of fire strikes Kitty and the pack of werewolves she’s sworn to protect.

She enlists the help of a group of TV paranormal investigators – one of whom has real psychic abilities – to help her get to the bottom of the curse that’s been laid on her. Rick, the Master vampire of Denver, believes a deeper plot lies behind the curse, and he and Kitty argue about whether or not to accept the help of a professional demon hunter – and vampire – named Roman, who arrives a little too conveniently in the nick of time.

Unable to rely on Rick, and unwilling to accept Roman’s offer of help for a price, Kitty and her band of allies, including Vegas magician Odysseus Grant and Kitty’s own radio audience, mount a trap for the supernatural being behind the curse, a destructive force summoned by the vengeful cult, a supernatural being that none of them ever thought to face.

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

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Kat Mandu says…

If Kitty thought she had wicked enemies before, she’s in for a big surprise. This time, it’s not just humans thinking they know better that are targeting her. This is a REAL curse – one that puts her life in danger and her pack’s. In an ultimate showdown that features introductions to new and important characters, old returning ones, and plenty of supernatural action, Kitty’s hope for safety is coming crashing down.

I was saddened by the attack on New Moon, the werewolf-friendly restaurant that Kitty owns and her pack mate, Sean, runs. These dark and fiery forces aren’t just attacking Kitty and the whole pack feels the target painted on their backs. Unfortunately they can’t fight it right off the bat and things go from bad to worse as the curse worsens.

I did love the introduction to the Paradox P.I. Crew, which reminded me a lot of Ghost Hunters, especially the “plumber van” comment. I’m glad that it did happen to contain a real psychic and not just a pretty face though. Also, Grant returns and Roman is introduced. Which uh…doesn’t go well at all in either case.

If I hadn’t have read most of the series already, I’d be hoping that the stress level in Kitty’s life goes down but uh…yeah. Anyway, I liked this one so it gets a four from me.

Invested Ivana says…

There are some fun bits in this book. I like Gary, Jules and particularly Tina of the Paradox P.I. crew. I like the contrast between Jules’s science and Tina’s powers. I really like that T.J.s brother, Peter, comes looking for him, and Kitty has to face her grief. I love the letter Tina get from Eric Wiesz, better known as Harry Houdini. And, of course, here is where we first start to hear about Cormac’s personal adventure.

Aside from those awesome moments, this story seems like a vehicle to introduce Roman, the supposed “big bad” for the rest of the series. One of the reasons I am happy for this read-along is that the Roman story-line never really clicked with me. However, I have not yet read the last two books and the few previous to that were read in isolation, not in-a-row with the rest of the series.   find that sometimes makes a big difference in how much I catch on to and enjoy the story. So I’m looking forward to a more cohesive experience of the rest of the series.

Much like the last book, while I like this story, it’s not as near and dear to me as the first four books. But, House of Horrors is coming up next, and that IS one of my favorites. 🙂

• Kitty and the Midnight Hour Book 01
• Kitty Goes to Washington Book 02
• Kitty Takes a Holiday Book 03
• Kitty and the Silver Bullet Book 04
• Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand Book 05

Other reviews…

• Mike Finn’s Fiction
• My Years of Reading Seriously
• Rabid Reads

If you like this book…

…you might try Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, Rachel Vincent’s Shifter series, or Eileen Wilk’s World of the Lupi series.