This isn't a new book, it is a re-release of the second book in the series. The series is wonderful, but opening the book I was so excited to get, just to realize I had read it YEARS ago was not! Do not be fooled as I was.

After reading book 1 (Dead Witch Walking) I could tell this author had something. After book 2 I needed a fire extinguisher. After book 3 I was hooked for the long haul. Her Character is so well drawn out in this series, you forget they aren't real.

I read "Dead Witch Walking" and was not impressed. (You can read my review for that one as well.) In this second book, the author's technique didn't improve much, and you have to tolerate usage of the same phrases over and over throughout the book. The writing isn't very sophisticated, and the main character is very thin and not intriguing (sort of like a watery stew). I understand that writing in first person is very difficult, so maybe the author should have moved to third person for this second outing. Perhaps she was trying to follow in the noir fiction movement, but the atmosphere of the books are too bright for that.

The only redeeming parts of this ongoing story are the interpersonal struggles and the fascinating (and drastically deeper) supporting character, Ivy Tamwood. The plot in this book is actually pretty good, and it is more complex than the first book.

I read this second book in the hopes the author's technique would have improved. (Come on, editor, you should have pushed her harder.) Unfortunately, it was at times tortuous. Will I read the third book or more? I don't know. Ivy's ongoing crisis is interesting, but that's about it. I'm personally tired of Rachel's juvenile behavior and hearing how she always has to push the wayward strand of hair out of her face. I could walk away from this series and never look back. Actually, now that I've said it, I think I'll move on to other books that I've been longing to dive into.

I have read the first 2 books in this series - honestly they're not that great. I tried to like them, i wanted to like them. They read like average TV episodes of Dresden Files or Night Stalker or
First, the world the author has created and virus that decimated a good chunk of the population seems, like an after thought. I can see the witches & such coming out of hiding after the virus, but come on - there would not be Starbucks after 1/4 of the word population was wiped out. There would be total chaos for decades if not longer. Yet the author has the characters living in a world much like own own, but with witches & wizards, drinking coffee at Starbucks, etc. This should be a grim world, with burnt out cities and roving armies and isolated city states. Instead we have Witches' Universities and Starbucks. The only reminder of a virus that wiped out over a billion people is humanity's aversion to Tomatoes?! Please... (The virus was carried by a mutant tomato strain. - Yes, attack of the Killer Tomatoes.)

Second, the treatment of the supernatural is well, droll. The main character mixes her spells with all the excitement and zeal of a pharmacist mixing up cough syrup. We don't get a feel of anything exciting or mystical. Why are these people magical? They just are. Where do the Vampires and Were comes from? No where special, they just exist. Accept it. The Vampires' bite & how they attract their victims is reduced to a chemical reaction. There's no awe, no "wow", its all very humdrum.

Nothing that happened in either of these books surprised me. If you are a new reader, I assume they're ok to cut your teeth on (ok, bad pun) but if you are a long time genre reader, this is the Dresden Files with a witch instead of a Wizard. This is the NightStalker with a gender change.

The main character, Rachel, is the least interesting of all. She's an average witch turned private eye. She runs her own private eye agency with a half Vampire. She plods along, throwing tantrums when she can't get her way. She escapes death only by the intervention of her friends and partners - not by any skills of her own. I dunno which came first Dresden or this character but she's a mystical private investigator (like Dresden) that works with the police as a consultant (like Dresden) and has a supernatural partner (like Dresden) and is alway broke and down on her luck (like Dresden) and her father died under mysterious circumstances (like Dresden).

There's some pseudo vampire erotica also for those who are bored.

Maybe the books get better after the first 2. I'll try the 3rd sometime down the road and see how it is. So far, its an effort to finish book 2.

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!!!

Not that the first book was bad. But somehow the author was able to take the setting, the characters and the ideas beyond where she started out with them. She developed them, filled them with energy, emotions and humor, then released them back into the pages of her novel. Action packed, with touching scenes of romance, lots of blood and gore, and at least one reference to Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Eh? Ivy talks about somebody being more than just a happy meal.
Anyway, I really enjoy the character of Rachel Morgan. Strong yet willing to take help from others. An emotional woman but not a sap. She is also strong but not all powerful and therefore boring. Yet she also sometimes just gets lucky like people in real life.
This story continues many of the threads from the first but also adds a few new characters and twists to the setting. Fresh meat, how nice! She could kick Antia Blake's butt.

Picked this book up after reading the first, as I'm a long time fan of the Dresden files and was wanting something similar, and the first was decently done. The only thing I can say is, can this woman write a book where 3/4 of it isn't filled with sexual tension, sexual references, and how hot her main character thinks all these guys are that aren't her significant other? It gets old with her constantly coming on to, or someone hitting on her every other page. I seriously thought this should primarily been marketed more as a romance novel than a Fantasy/sci-fi/Alternate history as that is where it belongs. I'm no prude, but I think it's a little backwards when sexual references/tension/rape scenes make up the majority of the book while the actualy dialogue/story-line make up the minority.

I really loved this book, and I thought it was great. It was better than the first! I recommend it, and give it five stars.

I absolutely love this author's work. Great story line. She is always making you wonder what is going to happen to Rachael, Ivy, and Jinx. I hope she continues writing about this group for a long time.

I'm not going to outline the storyline here, since i'm sure others have done it better than i could. Instead I'm just going to comment about characters and a few other miscellaneous things.. also a few things that might make you change your mind about buying this book...
As for characters....
After reading book 1, i wasnt sure if i was really interested in reading any further. personally i find Rachel Morgan to be a bit on the annoying, slutty side, but in this book it was much easier to overlook that. i loved Ivy and Jenks' characters, and especially Trent Kallamack. All of them are great in this book, and if you liked Trent's character in the first book, you'll love this book. he's a gigantic part of it. We get to see more of Kisten and a lot more of Nick. If you disliked Nick, you may have a problem here.. Rachel seems a bit head-over-heels for him, while i thought he was a jerk throughout the book. We get to meet Rachel's mom here, which was interesting. We also get to learn more about Rachel's dad and Trent's dad and their connection to each other. Trent appears more human in this book, we get to see a bit more of his "regular person" side.. which is nice to see.

As for the rest of it...
the pacing was much better than book 1; it didnt seem to slow down too much as to lose the readers interest, but it wasn't *too* fast paced as to skip over important things. Also, the murder/mystery aspect of it was great. UNLESS gore gets to you. If gore bothers you (such as describing severed, bloody, body parts) you may want to either skip this book, or be prepared to skip a few parts. while gore doesnt usually bother me, i have to admit that some of this made my stomach turn over. There is one sex scene in the book, a very long one, but not too explicit as to compare to Ms. Hamilton.. But you could skip the scene if you wanted to..
I would suggest that if you want to continue on with this series, you absolutely not skip this book. it would leave you completely stumped in the 3rd one since so many things are resolved here.. also quite a few new things are brought up. so make sure you at least read this before going to the next in the series. Also, if you haven't read the first one yet, i would suggest doing that before reading this. this is not one of those series' that permits one to skip a few books here and there.

I'm not going to outline the storyline here, since i'm sure others have done it better than i could. Instead I'm just going to comment about characters and a few other miscellaneous things.. also a few things that might make you change your mind about buying this book...
As for characters....
After reading book 1, i wasnt sure if i was really interested in reading any further. personally i find Rachel Morgan to be a bit on the annoying, slutty side, but in this book it was much easier to overlook that. i loved Ivy and Jenks' characters, and especially Trent Kallamack. All of them are great in this book, and if you liked Trent's character in the first book, you'll love this book. he's a gigantic part of it. We get to see more of Kisten and a lot more of Nick. If you disliked Nick, you may have a problem here.. Rachel seems a bit head-over-heels for him, while i thought he was a jerk throughout the book. We get to meet Rachel's mom here, which was interesting. We also get to learn more about Rachel's dad and Trent's dad and their connection to each other. Trent appears more human in this book, we get to see a bit more of his "regular person" side.. which is nice to see.

As for the rest of it...
the pacing was much better than book 1; it didnt seem to slow down too much as to lose the readers interest, but it wasn't *too* fast paced as to skip over important things. Also, the murder/mystery aspect of it was great. UNLESS gore gets to you. If gore bothers you (such as describing severed, bloody, body parts) you may want to either skip this book, or be prepared to skip a few parts. while gore doesnt usually bother me, i have to admit that some of this made my stomach turn over. There is one sex scene in the book, a very long one, but not too explicit as to compare to Ms. Hamilton.. But you could skip the scene if you wanted to..
I would suggest that if you want to continue on with this series, you absolutely not skip this book. it would leave you completely stumped in the 3rd one since so many things are resolved here.. also quite a few new things are brought up. so make sure you at least read this before going to the next in the series. Also, if you haven't read the first one yet, i would suggest doing that before reading this. this is not one of those series' that permits one to skip a few books here and there.

This urban fantasy series is quickly becoming one of my guilty pleasures. The world created by Kim Harrison is filled with constant battles between the good, evil and questionable characters that switch sides when convenient, and action packed scenarios interwoven with some wonderfully witty humor. This is second in the series and it continues where "Dead Witch Walking" leaves off. This books never looses momentum and it's the first fantasy book I read where the heroine prepares for combat in an epic, eloquent paragraph where she gears up to kick some booty and at the end she goes back to the hall table to pick change for the bus in a humorous way, it always tickles me when I sink into Rachel Morgan books because each one is better than the last. I have read many books in my life but this series is simply stunning and I will cry when it finally ends!

It's extremely difficult to review this without spoiling things, but resolutions and answers are given to those who loved the previous volume. We get to meet Rachel's mother and learn about her childhood and the events of her father's death. Mysterious Trent Kalamack is back, the bad boy no one can stand to resist yet never stops to fear, there is some very exciting development between Rachel and Trent, and it seems that these two cannot stay away as witch murders, accusations, and strange things seem to tangle these two together in an eternal battle of senses and brains. Rachel's relationship with Nick picks up a whole other tone and it settles funny in the reader's stomach, I cannot wait to see what resolves with them in the next book and the demon who was sent to kill Rachel and Trent reappears several times chilling me with the drama and close calls. Ivy and Jenks are back with a few strong moments and FIB is involved as someone is murdering Ley line witches and Rachel must buckle up and help them out while dealing with her own problems.

This is a book that cannot be missed, I loved the ending, and it was almost shocking but terrific. I was torn this weekend with household chores and the book was beckoning me greedily with its steamy action, this is something that is impossible to put down until it's finished. It is very rarely that a book can command so much of my attention and I really could not resist it, yum!

- Kasia S.

I enjoyed this as much as the first in the Hollows series, it really answered some questions left by the first book. I can't wait to read the 3rd book.

I read the first book with hesitation being that I've always been a fiction reader. i realized when reading Kim Harrison's books, it's like getting a bad car started; first it's hard to turn it on and ya gotta keep checking and rechecking the ignition, finally when it's started it's predictably smooth sailing with a few shut offs here and there. What i'm trying to say is, The book i find is a GREAT read, but the beginning chapters are always awkward. I wish that she would explain certain words she uses in Inderland language. Assuming what she's talking abotu can get a bit tiresome.

Now, to my favorite character, Ivy. Ivy is not given any justice as far as her character is concerned. I feel that she Harrison does not give us a strong sense of who Ivy is. One minute she's cold and stable minded, the next she's crying on the floor or shy like a little girl. I would have liked a stronger sense of Ivy.

Rachel, everyone, pretty much has said what i was thinking. She is clever but not intelligent. Most people cant relate to her, becuase she doesn't think. And it can get quite annoying when she's acting like a stereotyped blonde. Her freaking out every time ivy walks in the room is SOO annoying. i felt like screaming "Oh get over it already!!" Rachels c

I absolutely love the Rachel Morgan series. I cannot say enough good things about it.

Let's see. You have dead vampire and live ones. That is one problem. Rachel has both kinds that want to shag her, bite her, do both, or some combination of them. This includes her roommate and her roommate's boyfriend. There is also a demon that wants to do considerably worse things than that.

She ends up helping the human investigator types deal with a case that is out of her league, by going undercover to witch school, basically.

I got the first book, read it, and was not sure I would read any more.
However thought I would at least try the next couple books.
They get better with each book and the lead character starts becoming more.
The lead character sometimes gets on my nerves with her childish reasoning,
but it gets better less reactive and more thoughtful.
I will try the next 2 with hopes that she becomes even better.

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (2005) is the second Urban Fantasy novel in the Rachel Morgan series, following Dead Witch Walking. In the previous volume, Rachel finessed threats from Inderlander Security by gaining support from the Federal Inderland Bureau -- and blackmailing Trent Kalamack -- but her former IS boss was still out to get her.

In this novel, Rachel is looking for a stolen tropical fish. She locates an extra fish in the tank outside the office of Mr. Ray, a Were Alpha known for his fish collection, and gets it out of the building. Yet the Were pack is searching the area and spots her. Rachel only gets away by coopting a FIB car and its driver.

Unfortunately, Detective Glenn has been looking for Rachel. Now Glenn won't let her out of the car. She is on her way to the FIB building for a meeting with Captain Edden regardless of her feelings on the matter.

Luckily, Edden likes her and only wants help interrogating a warlock. Sara Jane is the secretary of Trent Kalamack -- Rachel's bete noire -- and she has reported the disappearance of her boy friend. Dan Smather is also a warlock and has been missing since Sunday. Sara Jane is convinced that his absencee is associated with the witch hunter murders.

The witch hunter has been killing witches experienced in ley line magic. Edden not only wants Rachel to assist in the interrogation, but also to start checking out the ley line aspect. He has enrolled her in the same course that Smather was taking.

In this story, Edden assigns Detective Glenn to work with Rachel. Jenks disparages the whole idea; he doesn't like Glenn and has already pixed him once. Rachel also objects, but is trumped by Edden admitting that Glenn is all that they say, but is still his son. Glenn joins the team, at least temporarily.

After Glenn takes them home, Rachel calls the Howlers to report her success in recovering the fish. Despite some confusion -- caused by the name of their firm -- Rachel passes on the message and is told that the fish was not really missing. She has risked her life and they say they are sorry, but them are the breaks. Apparently the Howlers are not going to pay her fee.

Since Sara Jane is not yet available to show them Smather's apartment, Detective Glenn stays over for supper. When Ivy comes home, she is surprised to see Glenn, but he is really upset to see a vampire. Then he says a few things out of fear that are better left unsaid and Ivy's eyes go black. Rachel talks Ivy out of her mood, but Glenn freaks out to the point of drawing his pistol. Finally Rachel gets him unwound and Ivy back to normal.

As thing are settling down, Ivy asks about the presence of Glenn in the church and Rachel eventually tells her of Sara Jane. Ivy seems to accept this news calmly, but is adamant that Rachel is not going to take the case. Like Jenks, she thinks that it is all a setup by Trent. She gets violent after learning that Rachel plans to interview Piscary. Glenn draws his pistol again and everything goes to pieces until Jenks returns and gets Glenn out of the kitchen.

At the University, Rachel is feeling the usual awkwardness of a newcomer in a tight group of students. Outside the classroom, she encounters Denon -- her former boss -- and receives the usual threats. Then she meets Dr. Anders . . . again. Naturally, Dr. Anders remembers her and informs her, in a definite tone of voice, that she will be flunked out (again) if she doesn't get a familiar.

This story involves Rachel in some convoluted magic. She finds an old grimoire in the church that contains a spell for producing a familiar. She faithfully follows the directions and the spell works, but not quite in the way she expects.

The Vampiric Charms crew introduces Glenn to tomato products. Ever since the great dying, humans have been terrified of tomatoes. At first, Glenn is too horrified to eat anything with tomatoes in it. Eventually, he is coaxed into a first bite and he likes it. Now Rachel is buying him tomato products on the sly.

As you may have noticed, Rachel Morgan has a definite problem with planning. Most of the time she just goes with the flow and improvises, but sometimes she tries to plan ahead. Yet she only takes favorable circumstances into account; she seldom considers that something might go wrong. When something usually does, she is forced to wing it.

Rachel assumes too much and seems to have never learned about the term "assume". No wonder older characters try to take her under their wing and explain the facts of life! Even Jenks -- the eighteen year old pixie -- has more common sense than she does! Still, her flaws are very familiar to anyone with a twenty-something daughter.

Highly recommended for Harrison fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high magic, mysterious deaths and contorted relationships.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I seen this book in B&N, so I checked it out at the library. I didn't realize it was book #2 at the time. It didn't matter though, I was able to pick up the story with no problem. A lot of backstory was explained if the situation needed it.

The story was very slow at first. There was a ton of detail about the world in which Rachel lives, which I liked. Future books have good potential to work with here. However, as far as pacing, there was just too much detail that it made the story drag on far too long. The story really didn't get started until around chapter 13 to 15. There was another point later in the book where the story, again, was sluggish.

Someone made a review that the story would have been over quickly if just a certain one person came forward with what they knew... this I agree with. The plot was pretty cut and dry.

The biggest problem I had was that I didn't care for many of the characters. Rachel was growing on me, but by the time I got to book 3 she was getting on my nerves and I stopped reading the series. She is very klutzy and not overly intelligent or calculating. She tends to mess everything up by jumping into things blindly. It leads to some interesting situations, but the character wasn't really my cup of tea. I actually liked the demon's character most of all. The Rachel character did not seem to be one that could stand alone like Anita Blake. It was only when Ivy, Nick, Jenks, etc. were around her when the story really shined.

I started reading the Anita Blake series after I stopped book 3, I didn't even finish halfway through book 3. Maybe I'll come back and give this series a second chance, but right now Anita Blake is too good. Anita I would give 5 stars, this book I can only give a middle-of-the-road 3.

I enjoyed this book a lot better than the first one in the series. I loved the progress of the characters and that we got to know them more in depth. I'm not going to write a plot summary because so many on Amazon have already did this. As far as the sex, it's barely non existant. I'm not sure what some readers are talking about. I hope Ms. Harrison actually progresses her characters into normal relationships which would include sex. I loved the mystery in this book. I was enjoyable and fascinating. I thought the characters worked well together and that they really connected in this book. I'm interested in seeing what happens with Nick and Rachel plus I definitely want to know more about what is going on with Ivy. I can't wait to pick up the next one in the series. I highly recommend this book.

I know that I am reading good writing when the main character can annoy the crap out of me and I still finish the book. That being said, this is a good book. I love the way that the author continues with her storyline and explanation of how the Inderlanders came into the open and assumed a new role.

The storyline is replete with sitiuations where other authors might have granted their main character a degree of introspection that most of us don't have. We make the same mistakes, it's part of being human. In this case, Harrison does a great job of making the strength that allows the main character to succeed also be one of her weaknesses that causes her a lot of problems. It's annoying as heck when the main character can't keep her mouth shut, but the same spirit/character trait is exactly what keeps her alive later.

I didn't need the sex added to the book. I know that it's a common theme in these types of books, but I hope that they author can keep it down to a sidelight and not the main focus. I gave up on other authors simply because they write with their libido and abandon the rest of their brains.

Harrison deserves a lot of credit for not having a sophomore slump and I look forward to reading more.

This book was fantastic as was Book 3. I had a hard time getting into Book 1, but was so glad I stuck with it so that I could enjoy the rest of the series. I bought myself books 4 and 5 for mother's day and am going to donate them to our public library. The library cannot keep enough copies of Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, or Kelley Armstrong, to meet their circulation demands.

This series appeals to me because despite the supernatural genre, it is very down to earth. The interpersonal issues involved are issues "mortals" have to face everyday.

I've read this book and the first in the series (Dead Witch Walking) and enjoyed them both to a degree. They are fun books, both with an engaging enough plot, but they both, unfortunately, read like the editor was drunk. In both, especially this second one, I found myself having to read entire passages several times to catch what the author was saying. It's as if entire sentences, or important sections of sentences, were cut out for no reason. If you're willing to read the book a few times to catch what's being described, I'd recommend the Rachel Morgan books. If you like understanding a book on the first read, I'd give them a pass.

This is the second book in Kim Harrison's series about Rachel Morgan, freelance witch who lives in a converted church with an alive vampire. I enjoyed the first book, Dead Witch Walking, and this book was an excellent follow-up, picking up the story just after the end of the first book.

Rachel is still trying to get to the bottom of the misdeeds of Trent Kalamack but finds herself employed by the FIB (non-witch agency) to try to locate a missing ley line witch, boyfriend of Trent's secretary. Rachel is paired with Glenn, an FIB officer who doesn't seem to be afraid of witches. Rachel is of course accompanied by Jenks her pixy - the scenes with Jenks are some of the best in these stories, I love the way Kim Harrison has written him.

Rachel soon connects the deaths of several witches in very nasty ways, and a ley line magic teacher, with Trent Kalamack and, against the advice of the FIB, tries to pry more into Kalamack's dealings. Her home life isn't much safer with Ivy, her vampire room-mate, struggling even more with living with someone who isn't a vampire, Nick her boyfriend playing with summoning demons and her own confrontations with the demon that attacked her in the last book.

I found this book a little slow to start and it wasn't until halfway through that I really thought it got going - after that I was very much enjoying the ride. I tend to find that the different charms and spells seem sometimes rather an easy way to move the plot on but I like the characters and particularly the difficulties between Ivy and Kim, the confusion over whether Trent Kalamack and Kisten are goodies and baddies, and of course the brilliant portrayal of Jenks the pixy and his family. I've already ordered the next in the series to enjoy after this one.

Kim Harrison scores with this second installment in the Rachel Morgan preternatural detective series. Rachel and her partners are more settled in their detective agency--Vampiric Charms. When the local police want Rachel to work as a consultant on the serial murder of local witches, Rachel is convinced that her nemesis, Trent Kalamack, the local drug lord is behind it. This is political dynamite and Rachel is strictly ordered to focus her efforts elsewhere. Of course in the best detective tradition Rachel must follow her nose to solve the mystery.

In the meantime her relationship with her boyfriend is imploding, and she has more contact with the demon Algaliarept than is healthy. Her vampire partner and roommate, Ivy is pushing the bounds of their friendship wanting a blood tie with Rachel.

This installment was a little slower to start than the first book of the series but once begun, it was a non-stop roller-coaster ride of action and adventure--supernatural style. Harrison's writing is good quality and she creates characters that are lively and captivating. I wish her editor would catch some of the spelling typos but there are not many. This series is addictive and will leave you wanting more!

Kim Harrison yet again keeps me flipping pages as I read the words continuing from her also sophisticated Dead Witch Walking, which is the first book in this series. The imagination is breathtaking as Rachel Morgan continues her troubles leaving the IS (Considered the FBI in the paranormal world of "the Hollows") which was just the beginning. The characters are memorable with their clever intellect and unpredictable actions that take place. I found myself laughing out loud to Rachel Morgan's witty captions and quivering at her strong domination and powerful sexual being.

I recommend this to a reader who is a fan of fascinating details and a suspenseful plot line. This has got to be one of my favorites.

This book was fun & exciting!!! the characters are unique & full of attitude.I'm on her third book now & can't put it down. It was hard to find a good book after I ran out of Hamiltons Anita Blake series but these books have done the trick.
ren1979

I just want to say I love Kim Harrison books. Its a fresh new story. Keep them coming.

Another good book in this fascinating series.

The third book in the series of Rachel Morgan. I really enjoyed it. It was suspenseful and exciting. I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. Looking forward to many more books in the series, can't wait to see what else Rachel Morgan can get herself into and out for!

The item was in mint condition when it arrived, on the time you estimated it would.

In "The Good, the Bad, and the Undead," Kim Harrison returns us to the world of The Hollows, where, due to an incident involving a desire spread by a genetically engineered tomato, Vampires, werewolves, witches warlocks, and other creates live side by side with humans in peace. Well... almost. At the beginning of the book, Rachel Morgan, our witchy heroine, is called to help the FIB (Federal Interlander Bureau) with a string a murderers, where all of the victims have been lay line witches. Rachel Morgan, an earth witch, must help the FIB by enrolling in a class at a university that is taught by on of the cases leading suspects. Unfortunately, the professor hates Rachel. Rachel knows deep down that this case involves Trent Kamlack, but her insistence that he is the killer only proves to cause problems at the FIB. As this is going on, Rachel continues to have problems with the scar on her neck, given to her by a demon in vampire form. Soon she finds herself stuck in a frustrating situation, involving her roommate Ivy, that could get her killed. How can Rachel live through this?

There are a lot of strengths to "The Good, the Bad, and the Undead." One is it has an interesting setting. Rachel, although she can get on your nerves at time, is a likable heroine whose sense of humor adds spice to the writing. In fact, all of the characters are interesting and fun to read about, regardless if they are villains or heroes. The plot is fast paced and exciting. I won't spoil anything but a lot of things are revealed in this book, and a lot of unexpected things happen. Make sure you have a lot of time on your hands when you read this because you won't want to put it down. I loved how everything tied together in the end and I also like how the author left things open for the next book. By the end of the novel, you'll find yourself eager to pick up the next volume in the series to see what happens next. My only complaints are that the character Nick played a much smaller role than I would have liked him too. He, as a human who can do magic, seems like such an interesting person, and I would have liked to see more of him! Beyond that, everything was great. I hope the next book is just as good.

This book opens with Rachel (a witch) recovering the Howlers mascot (a fish) from a rival team. The Howlers are a were wolf baseball team. Rachel is an inderlander (weres, witches, vampires etc. who came out into the open and demanded equality after humans nearly wiped them selves out with a genetically engineered tomato that acted as a carrier for a military virus). Glenn a FIB (Federal Inderlander Bureau an all human national police force) detective picks her up as she escapes from the pursuing weres. She previously agreed to act as a consultant to the FIB (see Dead Witch Walking). There are a number of very well written scenes combining suspense and humor as well as a nicely written erotic scene with Nick (her boyfriend) she met at the rat fights. She is helping the FIB track down the witch hunter serial killer that has been taking ley line witches. The FIB (Captain Edden) wants her to take Dr. Anders advanced ley line class as they are convinced she is the killer. Rachel is primarily a earth witch and dislikes ley lines as well as Dr. Anders. But Rachel turns out to be an extremely powerful ley line witch. The scene where she is standing in a ley line in Trent Kamalick's office using a spell to detect dead bodies and Al (a demon) turns up to talk to her and Trent is both humorous and suspenseful a rare combination. Another is when they go to Pizza Piscary's and Glenn winds up having to eat Pizza (humans are terrified of tomatoes). How she gets the Howlers to pay up is clever. The fish was never mising and she got the wrong one and the Howlers refused to pay.

The Good the Bad and the Undead is the second novel in Kim Harrison's `Hollows' series and, in my opinion, the best entry thus far.

Forty years after a genetic virus devastated the human population and the magical creatures (Inderlanders) revealed their existence to the world, and a month or two after the events of the first book Rachel Morgan is put on the trail of a serial killer that is targeting witches in the Inderlander community. But between demons, vampires, and an underworld business man who may not be human, the danger doesn't stop at just being bait for a killer.

Like the first book, this entry in the series works so well because Rachel is joined by her partners; Ivy the self-loathing, bi-sexual vampire whose interest in Rachel isn't purely professional and Jenks the fast talking, fast moving, quick witted pixie who has taken over this series the way Fonzie took over Happy Days. And that's a good thing because Jenks is one of the best characters created in the past decade.

The Good the Bad and the Undead starts off fast and never lets up until the last page and fires on all cylinders all the way.

This book is a worthy followup to Dead Witch Walking.

The writing style is just about the same, with the first chapters a very hard read. But having braved the first book, I knew what was waiting down ahead, and proceeded. As I expected, the book soon picked up pace, and finally hooked me up.

Some of the questions of the first book are answered (Who and what is Trent, a bit about Rachel's father, why Ivy really decided to leave the I.S. at the same time Rachel did, why can Nick perform magic, who sent the demon after Racher and Tent ...), and some new ones will be asked.

My only disapointment with this book was the I expected the authors writing to have improved, which it didn't. Don't get me wrong, this is a very nice and good book, but again we are faced with some difficult first chapters.

If you enjoyed the first book, you are garanteed to enjoy this one, since it is pretty much a continuation of the same book. And even tho it does try to repeat some of the main points of the first book, to make certain someone who hasn't read the first one can still enjoy it, I'm uncertain as to how good a job it does, so I really recomend you read Dead Witch Walking first.

Yep, I'm one of "those" readers who found Harrison a bit late - as in two months ago. And as soon as I'd finished Dead Witch Walking, I went out of my way to buy the next installment.

The Good, the bad, and the Undead was just as god as I'd hoped. Though not as intense in plot as the first book, it was a page-turner filled with all kinds of good stuff. Pixies, demons, elves, weres, and vampires all inhabit Rachel Morgan's odd world, and she is a constant delight in the midst of those things, so far never letting me down.

Rachel is, though not human, one of us, with vulnerabilites, courage when she needs it, the desire for a mate, and the daily trials of dealing with her "bounty-hunter-like" job. But does she let those things get her down? Yes.

What a relief finding these books is.
I look forward to the next one - and am opening the first page right now.

This is the first of Harrison's books I've read (I couldn't find Dead Witch Walking). I did enjoy it, for what it was -- light, entertaining reading. Fun to read, but certainly not thought provoking.
It's another story along the lines of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, with a bit of Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde thrown in. I find myself not liking the protagonist too much, as she seems to be all bravado and instinctive power, but not much smarts. She continually leaps to conclusions, repeatedly opens her mouth when she should shut up, and always seems to make the wrong decision.
The writing style is different, but these books are almost exactly what the Anita Blake books would be if they hadn't become soft porn. Once again we have a world where "magic" in one form or another has resurfaced, and brought Weres and vampires with it. Once again we have a main character who wields much more power than she is aware she has, caught in the middle of a plot by a master vampire. Plus she is intimately involved (emotionally if not physically) with another vampire. Sound familiar?

One thing I will say is that the book was good enough that all these comparisons did not occur to me while I was actually reading it. I don't know if I'll read the first one, or any others that might come out. I will probably be doing a pretty decent amount of traveling soon, and will need books for aeroplanes and whatnot -- these would be good time fillers. But I doubt that I would/will ever buy any of these in hardcover, just like I will never buy another Hamilton book in hardcover.

I enjoyed this story fairly well as I read it. But after I finished it and went back in memory over the story line, I realized that there is a problem with the plot that utterly destroys the story. There is someone who has a vital piece of information about what is going on. Indeed, as soon as our heroine finds out this nugget of information, the identity of the murderer is discovered almost instantly. The person who has this information has every reason to want to solve the problem, but he never goes to the police, and in fact keeps on doing that which will get more and more people killed. In retrospect, if he had done what any sane individual would have done, the book would have ended on about page 30.

Like I said. I enjoyed the story as I read it. And I like her characters for the most part. But her plotting is awful.

If you move, you die." Rachel Morgan is a witch whose life is with her living-vampire friend in an old church. She trusts Ivy completely, until one day she signs up to do some bounty-hunting for a conceited Trent Kalamack, whom she seems to have a mysterious relationship with. After telling her roommate Ivy, she goes completely nuts and attacks, wanting to make Rachel her scion. Now she's dealing with a depressed roommate, a cocky millionaire who can't wait to get rid of her, and a mysterious killer who preys on the most powerful witches, who just happen to have been meeting with Mr. Kalamack before their deaths. And she's just signed a contract to clear his name... This book is well written and just when you think you know what's going to happen, the author, Charlaine Harris, throws another twist at you. I recommend this book to any one with a taste for the mysterious, or to any one who just wants a good thriller.

This series improves with every book. If you're anxiously waiting for the next one, I suggest you try Touch the Dark by Karen Chance, available now. A fantastic read in the same genre.

... considering how vehemently I disliked "Dead Witch Walking". I guess I figured maybe it'd be better, and it was in a lot of ways. Sadly, the bad still balances out the good, hence the average rating.

Heads up: a lot of this review is about the author's writing style; I don't go into the plot.

The good: Harrison has gotten better at pacing the story. This book answers a lot of questions while still creating a situation that needs to be resolved in later books, but it's not as annoyingly heavy-handed as the first book. Some setting questions are answered too; we get more information about "The Turn", "live" vamps, etc. The plot of this book is fairly interesting, although I'll keep spoiler-free.

The bad: I still can't emotionally relate to the characters much. Rachel's motivations for things never seems quite strong enough to justify her actions. For example, her roommate keeps trying to eat her and yet she stays--supposedly out of friendship, but it's a friendship we don't see much about, instead primarily seeing Ivy acting vampy a lot.
Rachel's leaps of logic are still shaky, tenous at best, and she seems to say and do things with no thought for the consequences--a contrived way of creating situations. The characters' speech is still stilted and sometimes painfully contorted (as if Harrison is making a conscious effort to make them sound different from the real world, but it's clumsy), and there are a lot of grammatical errors (to the point of being confusing sometimes).

As in the first book, Harrison tries to give her world character by throwing in details, but doesn't really explain them: for example, a group of "Weres" is said to be "beginning to pack" because they've had too much "bane" ... and, er, that's all that's explained about it. It's mentioned several times that Rachel is wearing "vamp made boots". Maybe I'm being picky, but repeatedly mentioning something without saying why it's significant annoys me.

In short, the book's storyline was interesting enough to keep me reading, and to prompt me to buy the next one, but it's not a smooth read.

I would also caution you not to believe the way it's advertised or summarized, which is clearly intended to attract fans of Anita Blake-esque fiction. In reality, the main character is not portrayed as sexy or dangerous at all, but instead rather goofy and impetuous, escaping situations by sheer luck. There's nothing wrong with that ... unless you're expecting the book to match the advertising. Silly me. :)

I love the world Kim Harrison created, but her heroine witch really grates on my nerves! How stupid is Rachel Morgan? She behaves like a petulant child. She never listens to reason, and acts like an idiot most of the time. And what's even worse is that she glories in her stupidity. I'm not even going to give any examples. People who've read the book will know what I'm talking about.

But what saves the book for me is the neat world Kim Harrison's imagination created. I think it's really cool! Right up there with Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series (before all the cheap porn scenes, that is).

I just wish for once that a similar series would have an INTELLIGENT witch/death-dealer/hunter protaganist instead of an impulsive, petulant little girl in a woman's body. A girl in a woman's body is a definite turn-off to me - it's just irritating.

I am a fan of the paranormal and I have been fans of Stephen King and Anne Rice, who wrote under pen names and only the true fans knew until they were outted. Stephen used a pen name to answer the question of "If I was not me would the masses still think I could write?"

This book is like the raw beginning work of these authors. Kim Harrison is finding her way by giving us background and necessary details in order to understand what is going on, what happened before and what is yet to come. This makes for great drama but slows down the book. I did not like this book as much as the first one or the one to come but I understand its necessity. And I enjoy anything Kim and Rachel. I still finished the book in record time and found myself re-reading it to make sure that I did not like it as much as the first one. But only after reading the third one. It does not really fit with the other two, but it shows the diversity of the creator. As others have said if you don't like "Charmed" you may not like this book, but in my opinion it is better than the television show. You must keep in mind, so fat these books are all from Rachel's perspective and point of view is everything. Kim, through Rachel shows the various relationships women can have, and the wonders that can happen when you think outside the box. The "one liners" are great but they are to be expected if you know the character.

Okay, at the very end there are editing and printing problems but the story is worth the trouble and I am sure there will be a rewrite one of these days. These things happen and these problems are not in the first or third book.

The great thing about the way Kim Harrison writes is that you don't have to have read the first book in order to start reading what ever book you are able to get your hands on. Once you get started though you have to wonder how this all got started and why. It is not a feminist book but it would be a great book for a young college woman, a lesson to walk to the beat of your own drummer...once you find him/or her. Though women can relate there is enough testosterone that and other things men would enjoy. The characters seem real and you grow to care about them. There use to be a comic: `Rose is Rose' where the main character, your average housewife/mother dreams of being a leather clad biker woman. If you like or can relate to that, then this series will be like manna for you. I have always had a thing for vampires. Anne Rice introduced me to witches; Kim Harrison made feel I had to know what was going on in Rachel's life. If you like werewolves, witches, vampires, pixies and strong willed women, then you will love Kim Harrison's books. If you want something like Lord of the Rings then go resurrect Tolkien.

As a big fan of the paranormal genre,I thoroughly enjoyed this book.I had never read anything by this author,so I took a chance.Now I have ordered 2 more of her books.I read this book in 2 days.Wow!If you love Paranormal books,with interesting themes,this is for you.I am hooked.

I ordered the book without really seeing what it was about, just that it had the good reviews. When I began to read, I almost put it in the donation pile when I found pixies in it. Then I decided to give it a try. It is very different from what I usually read, but putting my preconceived notions aside as to what is a good read, I entered the story. Surprisingly enough, it was an excellent read. Not quite as intellectual as I usually like but a really good story, good characters and all around fun escape into a different world. It is a bit like "Charmed" but the elements such as vampires, witches and fairies, elves and pixies were all there in print long before "Charmed" or this book. I am now ordering the other two.

I had worked up a whole host of complaints about this book. I was going to list them in order, use examples from the book, and possibly even have footnotes. Then I turned on the television to discover that Aaron Spelling has done all my work for me.

This book is exactly like "Charmed." If you enjoy sassy, beautiful, powerful, sexy people performing magic and spouting timely one-liners, this is the book for you. If you really, really care about what your literary characters are wearing and how they have styled their hair, this is the book for you. If you fantasize about being the one woman in town that everyone wants, nay, NEEDS to possess, and the one woman in town that can always get what she wants from anyone, no matter how ridiculous the demand or how hurtful the consequences, this is the book for you.

This book is pure escapism. And I mean we're escaping from everything here, including proper editing. I would be very surprised if anything besides Spell-Check was used to proofread this book. If the plot held my attention better, the typos, word misuse, and missing punctuation probably would not be as distracting. But the author's obvious Daddy issues, frustrated love life, and desire for a closet full of leather should not compete with the plot of the book. It could have been more interesting if actual detective work and thinking were used to solve the case, but the main character just runs around using feelings and "instinct" until she stumbles across the answers.

I have not read the previous book in the series. A friend loaned me this book, claiming that it was the first book. That probably goes to show how poor the writing is, when even a FAN couldn't figure out in what order to read them.

If your sole purpose in reading is to escape from your dreary, miserable life, by all means read this book. Otherwise, do not read it if you have anything better you could be doing. Like watching reruns of "Charmed."

Alright, this is book 2 in the Rachel Morgan Series. It is also Kim Harrison's second novel. This is an alternative world where in the 60's a nasty virus combines with a DNA modified tomato to wipe out a large portion of humanity worldwide. In North America Vampires, Witches, and Werewolves pitch in to save civilisation and end up with about a 50-50 split between interlanders and humans. In the first book we learn about FIB, the human police force that is supposed to police humans and interlanders; and the IS, the interlander run agency that steps in to really police the interlanders. In this book we actually learn more about the interlanders, especially about Witches, Vampires, and Pixies. Rachel finds out that her human boyfriend Nick is summoning Agliarept, the demon that attacked her in book 1, and she is trying to track down the Witchhunter, a serial killer who is tagetting ley line witches. Rachel, an earth witch, is made to take a ley line witch class at CU from a teacher who flunked her when she was in community college, and immeadiately declares she intends to do it again. It is this class, and her obsession with Trent Kalamack, that drives this story. What makes it great is the greater development of this world we see in the year 2006. What I am looking forward to is a closer look at the politics of this world, and I think it will prove very fascinating indeed.

I absolutely am enthralled with the world that Kim Harrison has created. The different species, were-animals, vampires, pixies, fairies, witches all inter-mingling with humanity. It is wonderful.

Each book just gets better.

Buy all 3 at once or you will be kicking yourself when you finish the first.

This book was a great follow up to Dead Witch Walking. The characters develop in ways that are different than expected, especially Trent, which leads me to wonder if he is such a bad guy after all. I was disappointed that Nick's character was not delved into a bit more but prehaps Harrison is waiting for the follow up to reveal more of his character. Ivy is, as usual, a rivetting character, as are her fellow vampires, Kisten and Piscary. In GBU we get to learn a little more about Rachel's history and meet her mother, as well as discover that she has a brother also. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and am looking forward to many more books about the Hollows.

Dead Witch Walking introduced Rachel Morgan and her world to readers, and in The Good, the Bad, and the Undead we get more of a feel for the characters and the world they live in. There's a lot to like: vampires all dangerous, sexy and controlling; pixies with attitude; witches, including our heroine; demons with a sense of humor; warlocks with little humor or common sense; humans and their fear of tomatoes; and the problems they all have living together.

In book time, three months have passed since the incidents in Dead Witch Walking. Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks have been picking up jobs for their detective agency, Vampiric Charms, and settling into the church and garden. Rachel has learned not to set off Ivy's vampiric hunting instincts and things are starting to look up. Then Rachel gets a job working for the Howlers, a werewolf sports team, to recover their team mascot. After getting the fish back and nearly getting caught she's picked up not by Ivy but by a Federal Inderland Bureau officer, Glenn Glade. Captain Edden wants her to consult on a missing person case.

The missing person is the Dan Smather, a ley line witch and the boyfriend of Sara Jane Gradenko, Trent Kalamack's secretary. Kalamack and Rachel have history and Rachel wants to see him rot in prison. Cincinnati is currently having a problem with ley line witches turning up tortured and very, very dead. Rachel naturally thinks Kalamack is involved. The FIB thinks the killer may be Dr. Anders who taught every one of the victims. Rachel has been enrolled in Dr. Anders ley line class at FIB expense - a class Rachel flunked when she was in school.

But, worse is yet to come, since the FIB doesn't trust her not to go after Kalamack, they partner her with a human, Detective Glenn Glade. So she has to not only find the killer but also baby-sit a human searching for a killer in the Hollows. When Ivy finds out she goes into full vamp mode and attacks Rachel. Ivy's scared, and Rachel has never seen her scared before. Rachel is walking a thin line trying to find a killer, keep Ivy from vamping out, keep Glenn from getting himself killed, and keep her boyfriend from calling up the demon who marked them both in the first book.

Again, Rachel lets her instincts rule her. As she gets into the case she finds that it has connections to her past and her father. Rachel learns some family secrets about her childhood, her father, and their Kalamack connection. Things will never be the same as her world shifts and new perspectives open before her. I'm really looking forward to the next Rachel Morgan book to see what happens. There are lots of loose ends at the end of this mystery and anticipating the answers can keep you busy while you wait for the next installment.