Ok, bad - I wasn't really ever into the Vampire Erotica. Thankfully it only seemed to crop up once per novel a bit like it was the "obligatory erotica". Of course, that's the genre the book is supposed to be in so it's not like I wasn't warned or had the opportunity to not read it - nothing I consider offensive just not my thing. The good part of that aspect was, it seemed fairly well done and not excessive.

The good - there was quite a bit of it mostly in the stories. Some items were a bit abbreviated but it wasn't really until around the 5th book of the series that I began to catch on to the overall story line of this series. No, not dense, it's just that in the earlier books much of the story had the feel of "fire and forget"...complete stories that had a feeling of being done. I'd call it a lack of cliffhanger endings - again, however, the stories felt like they hadn't been condensed at the end nor were dozens of pages left on the editing room floor because it was too long. Call it "just right".

A few elements didn't fit well but seemed to be things that had to happen to get the main protagonist where she needed to be for the next book in the series. I'd label one of those as the death of her Vampire Boyfriend. It could be I was just disappointed because it seemed like a relationship that was intended to last, but it clearly made her available for what happened in the new few hundred pages (including in succeeding books).

I love the concept behind this series but, it seems to me that Rachel just gets dumber by the minute. How many deals can one person make with demons. It seems that she never thinks about the consequences of her actions. She only deals with the aftermath of what she has done after the fact.

I am not even going to comment on the "Ivy" factor. I feel bad for her and I don't think that Rachel takes into account her feelings or how the way she flaunts her "male" relationships in front of her affects her.

I do hope that as the series continues she finally gets a clue!

The story line had potential to be exciting, and the book started off with action. Unfortunately the author developed the lead character, Rachel Morgan, into a sex starved witch who evaluated each male (elf, werewolf, vampire, even demon) she encountered from a sexual standpoint. It was really annoying when it became so pervasive, maybe she was writing to other women.

Additionally, the author allowed the lead character to squeak out of mistakes through luck instead of clever intelligence. And the constant whining by the lead character of negative events that were affecting her also annoyed me. I wanted the lead character to take charge and develop into a strong person, and kept listening to the book because of tantalizing moments of action in which the heroin succeeded in overcoming the challenge of the moment.

Still frustrating waiting for those moments, and having to listen to the constant whining and sexual evaluations of the males in the book.

This series is a wonderful surprise. I read this in one gulp of fresh air - it's humorous, very real and the characters are so detailed that you actually feel that you know them in your real life!
So many reviews here compare it to Anita Blake, but I read the first few books in that series - and NOTHING compares to Rachel Morgan.
First off, Rachel Morgan is a much more complex individual, and Harrison creates a world of characters that you actually care for. In Anita Blake, I didn't feel any sympany for her or anything bad that happened to her . Moreover, the story is so stupidly plain and simple that leaves no room for imagination.
I also tried to read the Dresden files (read 2 books) - AWEFUL!!!!!!
The closest I could find to the style of writing and the intricate little things that happen all around in the book is the Sookie Stackhouse series which I also am thorouly enjoying right now. Can't wait for the next book in the Rachel Morgan series!!!

Things are not really looking up. Rachel Morgan is sexy, tough and everybody wants a piece of her. And when dealing with vampires and demons, sometimes that piece may be your soul or an important organ. She also has boyfriend trouble, Jenks is pissed at her and the powers of the underworld are starting to notice her and how she has this problem with authority. By the time you finish this book even you'll feel tired and need a good cup of tea.
I love how all the books have titles from Western flicks. Also enjoy the relationships because, frankly, undead or not they seem realistic and not too over blown.

Book 3. I started off my book 2 review for The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by stating that Ms. Harrison managed to defy the laws of diminishing returns and created a book 2 that was even better than its predecessor. I can only begin this review by repeating that observation, as Every Which Way but Dead raises the ante even more.

At the end of book 2, Rachel manages to thwart death at the hands of the Master Vampire Piscary, but only by striking another deal with the demon Algaliarept. Rachel's practice of "act now, think later" has saved her skin a number of times, but this time she fears she might have gone too far. In exchange for Big Al (her nickname for Algaliarept)'s testimony against Piscary, Rachel has agreed to become his familiar--provided that she gets to keep her soul. Every Which Way but Dead opens with Big Al coming to collect. He drags along his current familiar of 1000 years, Ceri--who is a haggard, haunted young woman, with an aura coated so thick with demon smut it is completely black. Rachel takes pity on Ceri, and manages to rescue her by swindling Al and also manages to resist being pulled into the Ever After (aka demon land). As it turns out, Ceri knows all of Big Al's tricks, how to stir demon curses, and becomes a formidable ally for Rachel, and a major character going forward in these books.

Rachel also has some serious man trouble on her hands. After pulling magic through familiar and boyfriend Nick by accident in book 2, Rachel finds herself in emotional limbo. She and Nick had a great thing going, but now he can't shake the memory of her accident, and pulls away from Rachel. Finally he decides that he has to leave town for a while to `take care of some business', and Rachel is forced to come to terms with the fact that their relationship is over. Meanwhile, vampire Kisten--former scion of Piscary and good friend to Ivy--has his designs set on Rache. Especially after the hot little elevator interlude in The Good, the Bad, and the Undead.

When I started this installment to the Rachel Morgan series, I feared that it would just be more of the same old same. Rachel fights the same demon and manages to keep her butt out of the Ever After, more unresolved tension with Ivy, unresolved sexual tension with Kisten, same old grudging problems with Trent Kalamack...but Ms. Harrison manages to pick up all these storylines and push them forward, taking Rachel into new territory without feeling recycled. Rachel begins a romantic relationship with Kisten and allows herself to be seduced by him, causing more complications with the jealous Ivy. There's a serious fallout between Rache and Jenks after yet another demon attack, and Rachel finds herself in the middle of a new power struggle in Cincinnati since she put Piscary behind bars. A whole new species joins the main cast with David Hue, werewolf and claims adjustor, as he tracks down Rache after the fish incident at the beginning of book 2 (really, how does Ms. Harrison keep track and maintain all these separate plot lines? It's awe inspiring).

Needless to say, there is nothing boring about this book!

Fans of the first two books will not be disappointed--Ms. Harrison just keeps getting better.

Review Courtesy of The Book Smugglers

This was another breathtaking entry in the complex and colorful world of Miss Rachel Morgan, sort of a supernatural bounty hunter if you may, who always manages to get into immense trouble and who longs for drinking coffee on Ivy's couch while trying to figure a way to save her life. This is the third installment of this delicious series and I cannot stress enough to read it in order, this story line has so many twists and turns that's it's easier than I can say to spoil things and ruin those great surprises, I don't even read reviews for next entries because it's never safe with the amount of ingenuity Kim Harrison puts into each one of her books.

I adore the subtle mix of humor thrown in, the main heroine has the audacity to make fun of the demon that keeps trying to pull her into the ever after, calling him big Al and stealing his familiar, and she enrages him to the point where their battles become hairy. Her relationship with Ivy is back on track although an old flame shows up, a vampire that I am sure Ivy is not going to be done with yet and whose job stands in Rachel's way. Kisten is back, the bad boy has some heart and really grows on the reader, I am starting to adore his role in the books, and he always smells like silk and leather, interesting combo...There is also more Trent drama but better than ever, I didn't know whether to sit or stand when reading, some parts were so ingenious and wonderful that I giggled or made noises while reading, making my boyfriend look at my strangely, books rarely have this effect on my hard to please reading palate but his one was superb. Nick is here somewhere, he needs to have a great excuse for his deplorable acting or he's out of my fan club, Jenks is fresh as always but with some changes, and new characters are subtly added, it's hard to tell who's bad and who's just pretending - but that's just part of the fun.

Currently being in the middle of the series I have to force myself and not read the remaining three books in the next three days, because then I think depression would set in, so hopefully I can stretch out the time between each because they are true jewels in the fun, wicked world of witchcraft, vampires, werewolves and all things magical. Although these books are very much part of the fantasy world of writing they are realistic, insurance, jails and lawyers are always breathing down everyone's back, some things can't be avoided even in other worlds...

- Kasia S.

The book was a nice continuation of the Rachel Morgan story that answered some questions and asked a few more. I was worried at first that the story would shift like the Anita Blake novels to a more Adult sex book than vampire book but with the exception of one or two PG13 parts the story stayed on course and developed nicely. Far from a master piece of modern literature but a fun read for what it is.

Ok, explain something to me. The current crop of female authors who write contemporary fantasy...what is this obsession with having a super sexy "bad boy" who's actually a "nice guy"?

Kisten sets a bomb that kills 16 people, but he's "not responsible" for it. Trent is a drug dealer who murders scientists in his office, but it's all for a good cause. Both are incredibly sexy, desirable men with outstanding fashion sense, so I guess that means they simply CAN'T just be bad guys.

Not a bad book, but I give it 2 stars due to the idiotic rationalization of why it's ok for our herione to have sex with Kisten now and with Trent in the future (which will obviously happen in a future volume). I'll probably stop here, since I already know what's coming.

The answer is yes, she can. and she does, right in this very book. in the previous book i was able to overlook it, but she makes unsmart choices so often, and a big point is made on her slutty clothing that she doesnt think is slutty. Also she complains of men not treating her right and blames it on her father having died when she was a young teen. yeah, right. its obvious that her character gives off a slutty air, and then complains about how men dont treat her right. for example, as we all know from reading reviews here, Nick has been pulling away for months now, after the incident in the previous book apparently scared him off (seriously?? it wasn't *that* big a deal! Who could pull away from someone they think "might be The One" so severely for something like that? it doesn't make sense, at least not to me). Also its become a pattern for her to pray to god. like "Oh God, get me out of this and i swear I'll.." or "Oh God, let me survive this".. its overdoing it, how much she uses the phrase "Oh God". I'm surprised something so little could bother me so much. but it really was annoying, and while i could ignore it in the last books, it was just repetitive here. Rachel is constantly reprimanding herself for using curses (as she does in future books as well) yet continues to use it.. it makes me want to shout at her to just plain stop getting herself into situations like that. But, of course, you can't knock some sense into a fictional character.. you just gotta hope the author does that for you.. but Harrison doesnt, and Rachel continues on to being annoying. I almost didnt finish the book, but finally sort of made myself so i could read the next..
Also I saw here that some people list that theres great sex in the book... nuh uh. there is one sex scene that lasts about one paragraph, and it isnt really a very good paragraph. And of course afterwards the guy (i wont say who it is just cause i think thats a bit spoiling, tho im sure if you looked you could find someone else list it) tells rachel she's the most (what was the word??) sensual or exotic or something along those lines.. but i just couldn't see it. Besides that, i thought the plot line was a little dull, and nothing compared the the 2nd book.. if you liked book 2, and then after reading this if you dont like it you might consider stopping the series. Well, i will tell you that if you liked book two you will probably like book 4.. its pretty good, and although rachel doesnt magically cease to be annoying, we do get to see a lot more of Nick's jerky side, and although Nick and Rachel come to a sort of truce and work together, they're still sort of on opposite teams. You get to know Jenks a *lot* better; he's turned into human size with a demon curse Rachel uses (dont worry, that wasnt a spoiler).

I just started reading Kim Harrison so I've been reading her out of chronological order. Talk about lots of fun! She makes it easy to be a supernatural fan. lots of adventure and sex spice up her book...I wish she could write faster.

I just started reading Kim Harrison so I've been reading her out of chronological order. Talk about lots of fun! She makes it easy to be a supernatural fan. lots of adventure and sex spice up her book...I wish she could write faster.

I just started reading Kim Harrison so I've been reading her out of chronological order. Talk about lots of fun! She makes it easy to be a supernatural fan. lots of adventure and sex spice up her book...I wish she could write faster.

More demonic dirty deeds are to be seen here. Rachel encounters one of her demon's past slaves, and it turns out she is an elf. Suddenly there are elves everywhere, ex demon-slaves are elves, the super villain and annoying henchmen are elves. These guys are supposed to be gone, what is the story, etc.

Mysterious elderly next door neighbour, as well.

With arguments with her boyfriend, and the amusing pixie going on, this perhaps runs the risk of turning into a crazed supernatural fest, with no human characters left, despite their overwhelming majority numbers in the city.

I'm new to this series, but have been tearing through them! I'll always be a fan of Anita Blake, but this world has even more types of characters and the plot hasn't deviated into the relationship-only type yet. I'm already halfway through the next one!

OK, so since reading the first of the Rachel Morgan series, I have grown to love getting the next in the chain. Every time I dive into the pages and submerge into the world that Kim Harrison so eloquently portrays, I feel a part of the story. Her extraordinary gift is making such fantasy feel whole, real and totally believable.

This to me was the failing of others like buffy, which always felt unreal. Rachel is sassy, and knows what real life is, and to me they should put these into film ASAP!

Book 3 Rachel starts to think she can start getting her life in order, but as always things never quite go to plan. Living with a family of Pixies, a living vampire and having your boyfriend as a familiar would suggest 'normality' is a dream that will never come true, but lets hope Rachel can do it.

If you are looking to drop out of the hum-drum and into a complex and real fantasy world, with adult emotions shown with grit and feeling, these are the books for you, and book 3 is even better!

Every Which Way But Dead (2005) is the third Urban Fantasy in the Rachel Morgan series, following The Good, the Bad, and the Undead. In the previous volume, Rachel slams Piscary into unconsciousness and turns him over to the FIBs. Later she convinces the Howlers to pay her fee for searching for their mascot fish.

In this novel, Piscary is convicted for the murders of several ley line witches after the demon Algaliarept testifies against him. Now Rachel summons the demon to fulfill her promise in exchange for his testimony. She goes through the rites to become his familiar.

After accepting her service, Al no longer needs his former familiar, the elf Ceri. Despite his sadistic intentions, Rachel convinces Al to release Ceri and then she gets Ceri onto sanctified ground. Ceri is now free after a thousand years of service to the demon.

Although Ceri is rapidly adjusting to her new freedom, Rachel needs to find her another home. Jenks is frustrated because he can't tell what kind of creature she is. He knows that she is the same kind as Trent Kalamack, but Rachel prefers not to release that information and pixies are not known for keeping secrets. Besides, Rachel, Ivy and Jenks are not exactly a normal household living in a typical lifestyle.

Rachel invites Keasley, the old witch living across the street, to come over and meet Ceri. While Keasley is not exactly a typical inderlander himself, he is more so than the Vampiric Charms team. At first Ceri and Keasley are a bit reluctant, but soon find much to like in each other. Keasley returns home to install Ceri in his spare bedroom.

In this story, Rachel notices that an older Were has been following her and confronts him in a back corner of the zoo. David Hue is an insurance adjuster who has a few questions about the fish that Rachel had taken from Mr. Ray's office. It seems that the fish had been stolen and the original owner has filed a claim. He also has some papers for Rachel to sign concerning the final disposition of the fish.

Algaliarept cannot use Rachel as his familiar without taking her back to the ever-after and is less than happy about her refusal to cross over. One day, when Rachel uses the ley line in her back yard, Al unexpectedly appears and starts dragging her away. Since the backyard ley line is surrounded by sanctified ground, the nearest available ley line is eight blocks away and Al is determined to drag or carry her to it. But Ceri, Keasley and David form a circle to stop him and Rachel, as the de facto summoner, then banishes him back to the ever-after.

This story also tells of Rachel's troubled relationship with Nick Sparagmos. After he became her familiar, Nick was subject to seizures and other upsets whenever Rachel drew upon a ley line. Now that she is Algaliarept's familiar, that tie has been broken, but Nick still isn't returning home. Then Kristen takes her out on a date and she finds herself becoming more attracted toward him.

With Piscary in prison, the criminal underground in Cincinnati becomes more unstable. Rachel gradually becomes aware of a new player. She first learns of Stanley Saladan from Takata in regard to his annual concert. Then Kristen takes her to Lee Saladan's gambling boat. Later, Quen hires her to protect Trent during a meeting with Saladan.

As usual, Rachel gets into all kinds of trouble with both her friends and her enemies. Sometimes it is hard to tell one from another, since today's friend is tomorrow's enemy and vice-versa. Her life is so screwed up!

Highly recommended for Harrison fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of inderlanders, humans and romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

This book and the whole series are magnificent! I would love to read more Rachel novels!

Even in a market full of supernatural, witty, authors, this author wins the prize for books that cannot be put down once begun, and that leaves you anxious for the arrival of the next book in the series.

I love all of Kim Harison's books but this is by far my favorite. It has everything thrill, love, and terror. I don't think there could be a better one. This is the best of all of the Rachel Morgan books to date. I have it so many times my first copy, of Every Which Way But Dead, it started to lose pages.

I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS BOOK, IT IS A GREAT READ!

Kim Harrison is incredible! Her books remind me of the first books in Laurell K Hamilton's series with Anita Blake... All of her books are a must read!!! Ivy and Rachel kick butt!

This is the third book in the series following Rachel Morgan, the white witch whose life seems to lurch from one disaster to the next. Although this book sort-of works on its own there are a lot of back-references to the previous two books ("Dead Witch Walking" and "The Good, The Bad And The Undead") and I think it's probably best to read them in order. There are some spoilers for the previous books in the review below, so beware!

At the end of the last book Rachel had overcome the master vampire Piscary (with the help of Kisten his former scion) although with a lot of trouble on the way - she had accidentally made her boyfriend Nick her familiar and had got more involved with the demon, Algaliarept, plus her roommate Ivy had rediscovered her taste for blood. The events in "Every Which Way But Dead" take place three months after the end of the previous book and it seems that Rachel's life is changing again. Boyfriend Nick Sparagmos has become rather elusive - Jenks thinks it's all over. And then Kisten the vampire appears on the scene again and Rachel wonders if she can trust him - after all, he did try to help her defeat Piscary. Plus Ivy's hunting of Rachel continues and Ivy's link to Piscary isn't helping. And Algaliarept wants to collect on the deal she made with him three months ago - which probably means the loss of her soul.

This book felt to me like Kim Harrison was really hitting her stride in writing. Although the first two books were really good reads this one was definitely better. There was actually less relentless action in it and much more time was spent with the characters - Rachel, Ivy and Kisten mainly. I was very glad that Rachel was rid of the drippy and wet Nick and tumbled into a fling with the phwoar-tastic Kisten. The background plot of Trent Kalamack and his doings continued, of course, with a little local power struggle between Piscary's lot and a newcomer on the scene, but the main action was about Rachel and her tangled life and her ever-growing link with Algaliarept and attempts to keep out of his hands. Jenks and his family are in the story, of course, as light relief and I love their interactions; this book was a bit more steamy than the previous two and there was more focus on the relationship between Ivy and Rachel.

Overall this was another really good read from Kim Harrison. Less spells, more character, and I felt that was a definite improvement in direction and made for a more enjoyable and meaty book.

Rachel Morgan is a top contender in the tough-chick, detective/bounty hunter, preternatural thriller in an alternate universe genre. Red-headed Rachel is an appealing hero, a witch who loves the thrill of danger and can kick monster butt. Her loyal fellow business partners, the vampire Ivy and the pixy Jenks, are fascinating co-conspirators in Rachel's adventures.

This third book of the series immediately starts the action with Rachel negotiating her familiar status with the demon Algaliarept, "Big Al", and in the process freeing the demon's current familiar, Ceri, adept in demon magic and a formidable new ally for Rachel in her struggle to avoid being dragged into slavery by Big Al.

Rachel's understanding of vampires is growing along with her relationship with sexy, leather clad Kisten--who is there to console her when she is abandoned by former boyfriend Nick. Rachel discovers more about Trent Kalamack's involvement with illegal medical research and inadvertently gets in the crossfire in a gang drug war.

This series gets better and better. Harrison has built a believable fantasy world where humans live side by side with supernatural characters. Learning about the world of witches, vampires, werewolves and pixies is interesting and fun, juxtaposed with thrilling adventures. The tone of the book is humorous and lively. Sexuality is primarily implied rather than explicit (a relief if you are traumatized by the torrid sexual antics of another character in this genre).

It is best to start with the first book, Dead Witch Walking and go through the series in order--the relationships and the lore of the alternate universe build over each book and it is much more enjoyable to be in on it from the beginning!

Rachel is up to her old tricks again. With her trusty sidekicks, this is sure to please any Harrison fan.

What it is about:
In the previous book Rachel Morgan made a deal with a demon. For the demon testify against a big bad vampire Rachel has to be his familiar. In this book Rachel pays up. In this book Rachel and her human boyfriend, Nick, are still having problems b/c Nick can't handle Rachel's use of magic especially when it involved him. To top it off Rachel starts flirting with another dangerous vampire. Throw in pissing off her partners and you got Every Which Way but Dead.

The Good:
I enjoyed meeting new characters like Ceri who might have something to contribute in future books. I am glad that Nick and Rachel are on the outs b/c I don't really like Nick. Although Rachel hates Trent I like him and like the scenes he is in.

The Bad:
In this book there seems to be a lot of the same old same old. Rachel is battling the same demon, trying not to let Ivy bite her, and trying to resist sexy vampires. It gets a little old and annoying. How much more can these characters whine? Also If you haven't read book 2 you probably should b/c you will be a little confused about some of things that are happening in this book. I couldn't understand how all of a sudden Rachel is dating a bad guy. It is a little disconcerting...

Conclusion:
The feels a little slow but picks up towards the end and you get to meet more characters that will be interesting later. I am a little worried that Rachel is getting to cliqued and is going to start sleeping with all the species she can. All in all this entire book is just ok. I am questioning where Harrison is taking this series and am worried it is going downhill.

Her books are a thrill-a-minute, extremely well written, and read like I'm at the movies! ... all I've got to say is WHRE'S THE MOVIE CONTRACT!

Jim

The item was in perfect condition and arrived in the time estimated with no problem.

This is the third in the Rachel Morgan series about an earth witch private eye (sort of) in an alternate Cincinnati, where Were-creatures, vampires, elves, pixies, fairies, and more (and in several varieties of each) are part of the everyday world. Rachel is becoming a witch to be reckoned with, not least because of her close but uneasy relationships with her partner and her new boyfriend, both vampires. She's also a member of a Were's pack -- but only on paper and only for the insurance benefits. That's much of the fun, actually -- the ways in which non-humans deal with mundane American life and business. And vampire politics is fascinating. Her boyfriend is front-man for the criminal master vampire she managed to defeat to have sent to prison, so things aren't so cut-and-dried in her world. And her demonic connections are getting waaaaay out of hand. Harrison is finally getting the hang of character development and her plotlines are much more interesting than in her earlier work, I'm happy to say. There's a fair amount of torrid sex, too. On the other hand, she's still badly in need of an editor. "Precedence" does not mean the same thing as "precedent," and "conniving" and "contriving" are quite different words. Nor are "pained" and "painful" equivalent. A decent copyeditor would have caught all that. She also makes strange word-choices with some regularity, such as describing a room as "twenty feet tall" instead of "high." She says she never took any writing classes, only the usual English courses in school -- and I believe it. She must have been paying close attention, though, the day she discussed present participles because 80% of her verbs appear in that form. She also ought to declare a moratorium on the word "from" -- "my hands fell from him," "a gasp came from me," etc. Actually, it's almost as if English weren't her first language. Finally, you really have to treat this series as a single, very long novel because Harrison almost never gives you anything in the way of a backstory to explain something in a later volume. It wouldn't hurt to explain in passing *why* most humans can't stand ketchup. Very annoying, and it gets in the way of a good story.

This is the third entry in Kim Harrison's Hollows series about witch/investigator Rachel Morgan. I highly recommend you read the first two (Dead Witch Walking and The Good, the Bad & the Undead) before tackling this one or you'll be lost-plus it will ruin a few surprises if you ever backtrack and read the first two. Briefly, this series is set in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (big ups to Covington/Newport) and is set in an alternate world where humans share space with vampires, weres, fairies and other assorted supernatural beings. All of whom came out of hiding after a manmade virus wiped out a large portion of the human population of the planet. Rachel is a witch that works in a detective agency with a living vampire and a pixy. Yes, a pixy. Just trust me when I say it's better than it sounds.

Unlike the previous two novels, this one hits the ground running with action that continues all the way to the conclusion. The book opens with Rachel summoning the demon Alagliarept. It seems Rachel is desperately trying to get out of being his familiar-an arrangement she was forced into at the end of book two. In the process, she rescues his former familiar-a 1000 year old elf named Ceri. Her boyfriend Nick has left her after being unable to deal with her accidentally making him her familiar, the vampire Piscary is in jail but still making trouble for her and her living vamp roommate Ivy, there's a new supervillain vying for control of Cincinnati's underground, Al the demon is more determined than ever to pull her into Hell with him, elf and semi-nemesis Trent Kalamack is still trying to make her work for him and-oh yeah-the other living vamp in Rachel's life, Kisten, has asked her out.

This book simply rocks. The action is non-stop, the alternate universe is elaborately drawn, the characters are mostly likable and engaging and there is chemistry aplenty. And if you are a Kisten fan, you will be happy to know that he and Rachel finally get closer in this book. What I didn't like is the levity from the first two books is almost gone. Although Rachel doesn't stupidly contaminate a crime scene by having a meaningless temper tantrum as she did in the second book, I did find myself missing the witch that stole the Howler's fish. This book and Rachel are much more serious. And what is almost a criminal literary crime, Rachel and her pixy business partner Jenks have a fight midway through over something kind of silly and he moves out, leaving a huge vacancy of humanity and comic relief. Likewise, Captain Edden and his son from the Federal Inderland Bureau (the human agency that polices supernatural crime) are MIA in this novel as well. I did enjoy Rachel growing more into her own as a witch however and I really loved the way that Harrison resolves the final battle between Rachel and the new villain.

Despite minor complaints, I really enjoyed this book and I've already picked up the next one in the series (A Fistful of Charms.) I found Kim Harrison after giving up on Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels which jumped the shark about 3 books ago. If you too are a refugee from that series or enjoy supernatural mystery, I think you'll be very happy here.

This is the third entry in Kim Harrison's Hollows series about witch/investigator Rachel Morgan. I highly recommend you read the first two (Dead Witch Walking and The Good, the Bad & the Undead) before tackling this one or you'll be lost-plus it will ruin a few surprises if you ever backtrack and read the first two. Briefly, this series is set in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (big ups to Covington/Newport) and is set in an alternate world where humans share space with vampires, weres, fairies and other assorted supernatural beings. All of whom came out of hiding after a manmade virus wiped out a large portion of the human population of the planet. Rachel is a witch that works in a detective agency with a living vampire and a pixy. Yes, a pixy. Just trust me when I say it's better than it sounds.

Unlike the previous two novels, this one hits the ground running with action that continues all the way to the conclusion. The book opens with Rachel summoning the demon Alagliarept. It seems Rachel is desperately trying to get out of being his familiar-an arrangement she was forced into at the end of book two. In the process, she rescues his former familiar-a 1000 year old elf named Ceri. Her boyfriend Nick has left her after being unable to deal with her accidentally making him her familiar, the vampire Piscary is in jail but still making trouble for her and her living vamp roommate Ivy, there's a new supervillain vying for control of Cincinnati's underground, Al the demon is more determined than ever to pull her into Hell with him, elf and semi-nemesis Trent Kalamack is still trying to make her work for him and-oh yeah-the other living vamp in Rachel's life, Kisten, has asked her out.

This book simply rocks. The action is non-stop, the alternate universe is elaborately drawn, the characters are mostly likable and engaging and there is chemistry aplenty. And if you are a Kisten fan, you will be happy to know that he and Rachel finally get closer in this book. What I didn't like is the levity from the first two books is almost gone. Although Rachel doesn't stupidly contaminate a crime scene by having a meaningless temper tantrum as she did in the second book, I did find myself missing the witch that stole the Howler's fish. This book and Rachel are much more serious. And what is almost a criminal literary crime, Rachel and her pixy business partner Jenks have a fight midway through over something kind of silly and he moves out, leaving a huge vacancy of humanity and comic relief. Likewise, Captain Edden and his son from the Federal Inderland Bureau (the human agency that polices supernatural crime) are MIA in this novel as well. I did enjoy Rachel growing more into her own as a witch however.

Despite minor complaints, I really enjoyed this book and I've already picked up the next one in the series (A Fistful of Charms.) I found Kim Harrison after giving up on Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels which jumped the shark about 3 books ago. If you too are a refugee from that series or enjoy supernatural mystery, I think you'll be very happy here.

One problem with Kim Harrison's engaging earth-witch/runner character Rachel Morgan is that a lot of her problems are self generated. I think this is largely intentional on Harrison's part, and having a heroine with large, real flaws is interesting, especially as Rachel herself seems sensitive to some of them, and totally oblivious to others. I think it crosses the line in this book though, and I have had to dock her a star for it. To me, the most egregious scene was not when she loses her partner Jenks by showing that she doesn't trust him, but earlier when she drags him to what she must know is likely to be a very difficult encounter with her boyfriend. This is not something you do with a coworker, even if he is also a friend. Then, after said boyfriend is out of the picture (and good riddance, there's obviously a mystery there, but it can stay unresolved and he can stay gone as far as I am concerned), she strikes up a new relationship with possibly the male character most likely to be a bad choice for her, in terms of her relationships both with Ivy and the enemy who almost killed her once. (And in fact this new boyfriend does literally blow her sky-high). She then unthinkingly does the very thing she has been explicitly warned will bring her _other_ arch-enemy to her doorstep, and finally, when the book is over, and she has supposedly learned some things about herself, she makes a formal legal commitment with a man who is a casual ally at best, and rubs Ivy's nose in it by making her an official witness. In fact her continuing snub of Ivy is another bit of self-delusion and bad judgement on Rachel's part. She imagines that she couldn't do the blood/sex thing with a female after several times describing her intense desire to do just that. Yes, perhaps that "orientation" is imposed by her "scar", but that doesn't make it less real, and she's ready enough to have sex completely outside her _species_, complete with different (though never described..) sexual anatomy.

I'm _only_ docking one star because as screwed-up as Rachel is, her story still has me interested. She has a unique and appealing narrative voice, and I don't want her without flaws, just a bit fewer, and a bit more realization of the ones she has.

Rachel, Ivy and Jenks are runners--sort of private detectives--in Cincinnati. But with a difference they are all inderlanders (Rachel is a witch, Ivy a vampire, and Jenks a pixie). Rachel is breaking up with her old boyfriend Nick and winds up in a relationship with Kisten an old boyfriend of Ivy's and still a friend of hers. Rachel has made a deal with a demon Algaliarept to be his familiar in return for his testimony against Piscary the vampire boss of Cincinnati. She manages to trick Algaliarept (usually known as Al) so that she doesn't get haled of to be his familiar and he is a real sore looser. She also gets him to release his previous familiar Ceri (an elf). There are a couple intertwined plots here and good writing. One fairly hot erotic scene between Rachel and Kisten as well. But this isn't really in th erotica subgenere. A little humour here and there as well (when Rachel and Piscary's lawyer meat and David a were wolf insurence adjuster for a company run by weres). It would have been better with a little stronger plot and without errors like saying that Ivy is the last of the living Tamwood vampires (vampires come in two flavors living and undead) when she has a younger sister and her father is also still living. The main villain is Lee Saladin (a witch) who is trying to take over the city from Trent (one of the few remaining elves who wants their existence kept secret) and Kisten/Ivy who are running things for Piscary. They wind up in a showdown in the ever after that ends with Al taking Lee as his familiar. Good characters and overall nice complex plot.

If you read my review on the first two books, you will remember the one thing I complained about was a slow start. Well, guess what ? This time Kim gives us a book that is wonderful from page 1.

Showing a definitive improvement on writing style and storytelling, Kim give us wonder novel, which picks up exactly where The Good, The Bad and The Undead finished.

Get ready to review some of your concepts about Rachel, since you will be seeing some new facets of the independent inlander runner. All the usual suspects are on the book, of course, such as Icy, Jenks and Trent. You will miss, perhaps, our old pals from FIB. On the other hand, you will get a nice were insurance adjustor, and find out that Trent is not as along as one might think.

Without a doubt, the best book of the series up to this point, and I'm running to get the 4th.

Every Which Way But Dead is third in the `Hollows' series by Kim Harrison and, while I love the series, I am not happy with this entry into it.

The first quarter of the book gives the reader glimpses of greatness from the previous two novels but then the wheels come off and the entire book teeters on to its conclusion. The book is still ok but I know Kim Harrison can do better, she's proved it with every other book in the series.

Let's start with the biggest and most unforgivable failing in this book; one third of the way into the book Jenks gets angry and leaves and we don't see him again... HUGE mistake. Without Jenks the book has no humorous moments to ease the tension, without Jenks we lose the voice of wry reason to counter-point Rachel's ditzy-ness (more on this later), without Jenks Ivy becomes little more than a grim, angst ridden, sad sack, and without Jenks the over-abundance of, and over-reliance on, vampires that now inhabit the series becomes a serious liability (more on this later). Object lesson; never remove the best, most popular character from the series.

The next problem is Rachel's inexplicable and out of character behavior. No where in the first two books was Rachel ever portrayed as a ditz, a klutz, or an adrenaline junkie, yet in this book these personality flaws suddenly manifest themselves and strain her credibility as a runner (a bounty hunter/private detective). This problem crystallizes in her choice to start a relationship with a vampire criminal who works for her arch enemy.

The final problem is the amount of vampires and vampire related side stories. Vampires, in large number, are not interesting to read about. In a series of books that is updating the images of so many fairy tale creatures why would you focus on the one fairy tale creature whose image has been updated so many times that it is affixed in the pop culture. Vampires, before Stoker, were mindless parasites. Vampires after Lugosi were romantic and sexual. Vampires after Rice were foppish, boy-band rejects. And here they are in Every Which Way But Dead, exactly like their pop culture images. The other species in this series are much more interesting but they seem to be, suddenly, out populated but vamps.

Having said all that I do want to reiterate that this book IS readable, but it doesn't meet the standards that Ms. Harrison set with the first two books. This is also NOT the place to start the series. Start at the beginning and then read them in order. The Hollows is still a fascinating place to read about.

Was a little slow to get going; seemed to waste pages on intercourse; very nice action when Ms. Harrison finally got back to the story. Fairly good book.

In the second book in this series, the heroine captures a bad guy who has been torturing people (a lot of people) to death in truly horrific ways. AND he rapes the heroine's best friend. When the heroine and this monster meet in battle, he is doing his utmost to kill her, and she takes some sort of twisted pride in the fact that she doesn't kill him--just arrests him. At the beginning of this book, we are informed that this monster doesn't get the death penalty or even a life sentence. AND... he is a bigtime organized crime guy and is continuing to run his empire from his jail cell.

So I had a bad taste in my mouth from the first chapter of the book. Toward the end of the book, however, the bad taste got a whole lot worse. Since the biggest bad guy is in jail, he has a littler bad guy on the outside who does his evil deeds for him. The heroine knows this, and yet she dates him. And the little bad guy sets a bomb in a casino and innocent people are killed, and the heroine shrugs it off. After all, he called the management of the casino and told them there was a bomb, so he can't be held responsible for the deaths of those people...WHAT??!!!

Ask yourself this: If those terrorists who destroyed the Twin Towers on 9/11 had called ahead so that some of the people could get out alive, would you want to date one of them? Would that have made it okay? I don't think so. And if you were a former cop, dedicated to bringing bad guys to justice, and someone bigger and stronger had violently raped you, would you go to work for him running his crime syndicate? I don't think so.

Kim Harrison has created an interesting world with interesting characters, but her plotting is just awful. I had to force myself to finish this book, and I probably won't be reading the next one in the series.

This was the first book of Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series that I have read and it is the third book in the series. The reason why I was attracted to it was the quote on the cover "great sex, an even better plot!" so if I was going to start with one of the books, I'd start with the third one. As everybody knows, Bill Gates only got it right with Windows on Version 3.0.

Like other reviewers, I was disappointed. Kim's got a great concept going here, but makes some classic mistakes that I hope she -- or her editors -- will fix.

1. She doesn't explain enough along the way about the world in which the characters lives. Yes, it is Cincinatti, and yes, about 40 years ago, the magical-monster (vampires, witches, elves, werewolves, etc.) world somehow integrated with the human world, but that's about it.

2. She doesn't explain enough about the character's motivations or reasoning for why they do things. Yes, Rachel is upset about her Dad's death, and yes, Ivy, got some kind of lesbian thing going for Rachel, but again, that's about it. You don't understand why the bad guys, or bad-good guys, Trent, Kisten or Lee do what they do.

3. She doesn't explain enough of the plot. A critical plot element in this novel is Kisten putting on bomb aboard Lee's gambling boat, but when, why, and how he did it is never explained. The first you hear about it is when Ivy warns Rachel about it in a cell phone call. Later, Kisten apologizes for it, kind of, to Rachel, and then, that's it.

Fix this, Kim, and you'll have Hollywood knocking at your door!

This is a great book for anyone who likes the unwordly or the otherwordly :) The characters are amusing and interesting and the author draws you into the story very quickly. This was a bit tamer sexually than some of Laurell K. Hamilton's newer Blake books, but despite that, or maybe because of it, the book came through. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of fantasy or romance. Just kick back, relax and enjoy the book. (by the way, the series only seem to get better, haven't read the newest yet, but can't wait!)

This continuing saga works very well. Each of the books so far have both continued the tale, and also evolved the heroine. Not quite Honor Harrington but still very good. I read a mix of hard SF, space opera, alternate histories, and fantasy. This is one of the series that I constantly track for new releases!

This book is a fantastic mix of witches, vampires, and soooo much more. It is fast paced so I didn't get board. The characters are so dynamic, more so than in most. I love ivy.

I have read all the books this author has published and have enjoyed all of them. Harrison's books are a nice mixture of dark fantasy, fun, sexual tension and good plot. *note if you can get to a book signing the author is a very pleasent/fun person*

I recommend all of Ms. Harrisons books

Kim Harrison is an interesting author. I started off reading Laurell K. Hamilton's books and that led me to stumble upon this series, which wasn't too much of a disappointment.

While it is alike in the fact that humans are aware of the existence of non-human creatures in their world, it is certainly more complex than that and adds to the plot quite well.

Sometimes I feel the main character, a witch, is a bit unbelievable, but most of the time she is alright.

This is a light read, at least for me, and is a pretty intriguing with a unique cast of characters. Though the vampire/sex appeal is still there, which sometimes gets a bit trying, but if that's the way the author wishes to view the creatures, there is certainly nothing I can do about it.

Reguardless, it was alright, and not that expensive, so sure, I recommend it.

Kim Harrison is probably the most stylish of the new breed of writers who have updated supernatural undead creatures with ultra-modern flash (think Hamilton, Banks, and the like). The lead witch of this book series, Rachel Morgan, is a great character, with realistic twenty-something angst on top of her complex inner witchness. Harrison's characters are both fantastic and believable, and she deals with the latest in supernatural and occult fads in new-fangled "horror" writing (though it's not particularly scary). However, Harrison needs to really tighten up her writing style. This book is way longer than it needs to be, with an intriguing but very slow-moving plotline slogging along beneath lengthy waves of adolescent dialogue and soap opera-style character interactions. Meanwhile, supporting characters appear and disappear in a very uneven fashion, and various multiple subplots get way too much time and detract badly from the main story of Rachel's dealings with the demon Algaliarept and the vampire Piscary. The final showdown that is supposed to be this novel's climax is spread out so thinly that you might think you're merely witnessing the wrap-up of yet another subplot. Kim Harrison is capable of a sexy and bodacious story, but I'll wait until she comes up with something more compact and focused. [~doomsdayer520~]

I enjoy this series & thought this was a worthy installment. Looking forward to the next one!

Of course i've read all three in this series, and while the other two were good enough to keep me wanting to read the next, this one was the best so far. I wasn't thrilled about the abrupt ending and all the things left unknown, and all of the other things left unknown from the very first book are somewhat troublesome. But i'm willing to wait it out and see exactly what Ivy wishes for at the very beginning of book one when Rachel, Ivy and Jenks all made a wish granted to them by a leprechaun. For all those who forgot about that, doesn't it make you just a little curious now that i mention it? And still there are questions about Rachel's father, and what exactly is up with her mother? Now we have this new development with Newt to ponder. I mean, really, how can we be expected to wait for book number four with so much left still unknown? That's why i'm glad i didn't start reading the Anita Blake series until just this year. I've been able to read one after the next and not have to worry about any wait, unless it was to read something else in between. Oh, and the sex scene in this book was great. Not as graphic as Anne Rice, and therefore all the better.

Alright! Rachel Morgan is back for an all new story line, well, we left off having Piscary in jail and Rachel getting a new car from Trent. But now, things seem to be getting ugly quicker than she would of suspected. Having made a deal to "Big Al" she became his familiar to save her life, now he wants her soul, and he'll do anything to get what he wants. Things dont seem to be going well with Rachel, and to make matters worse, her roomate, Ivy, is practicing again, having been raped and drained of her blood by Piscary, she cant seem to control her blood-lust, and having Rachel live in the same church as her isn't making things easier. Also, things seem to be going downhill with Nick and Rachel, knowing this, who else comes to claim fresh meet but Kisten himself, the handsome, seductive living vampire. All of this and much, much more!! Just read to find out if Rachel Morgan, bad-ass witch runner, can survive all of the troubles and problems in her life, unless insanity claims her first.

This is third in a very very good series. It is fun and magical. The characters are so cool. You feel like you are there going through everything with Rachel. If you like Anita, you will love Rachel because she is clumsy, strong and hard headed. She doesn't crawl into bed with a bunch of different men whom she claims to love like Anita or Merry in the Laurell K. Hamilton series. Which doesn't go to say she hasn't had her love interest moments. Nick was cool but the chemistry between her and Kist is smokin hot.
I have read the first two, but this was my favorite because of her developing relationship with Kist. I can't wait to read the next and the next and the next and....

Her books are fast paced, fun and exiting, you will fall in love with Rachel one of the main caracters.

I absolutely loved this book. It is in someways similar to the Anita Blake series but otherwise it is unique. I think Kim Harrison is a very good author. IN the book Rachel Morgan escapes from a demon and helps bring in a biodrug dealer. She also is having some fun with Kisten (otherwise known as Kist). Well I can't wait till the next book and the anthology called "Dates From Hell". Well either way you should enjoy the book...if you dare.

I came across this book one day in the library, looking for a book to help erase the disappointment I felt after having read one of the later books in Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series. The title was the first thing to catch my interest, when I read the back of the book I figured it was worth a try. The library didn't have the earlier books in the series, but the book seemed to have a similar theme to the earlier Anita books so I checked it out, despite usually liking to read series in orders. I'm glad I did check it out; it was a wonderful story with a strong heroine and a supernatural flair. The characters were interesting and the mythos was unique.