Haunted by Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld Series)

THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF THE SMART, SEXY — SUPERNATURAL — WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD

Eve Levine — half-demon, black witch and devoted mother — has been dead for three years. She has a great house, an interesting love life and can’t be killed again — which comes in handy when you’ve made as many enemies as Eve. Yes, the afterlife isn’t too bad — all she needs to do is find a way to communicate with her daughter, Savannah, and she’ll be happy.

But fate — or more exactly, the Fates — have other plans. Eve owes them a favor, and they’ve just called it in. An evil spirit called the Nix has escaped from hell. She feeds on chaos and death, and is very good at persuading people to kill for her. The Fates want Eve to hunt her down before she does any more damage, but the Nix is a dangerous enemy — previous hunters have been driven insane in the process. As if that’s not problem enough, the only way to stop her is with an angel’s sword. And Eve is no angel. . . .

So, after I read Living with the Dead, one of the more recent books in the series, I backtracked to read one of the older books in the series. This book is about Eve. We meet her for the first time in Dime Store Magic. Her daughter is now being raised by Paige, who is my least favourite character in this series. This means that I was pretty sure I was going to have to put up with Paige during the course of this book, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. Eve is obsessed with watching out for her daughter, Savannah. She checks up on her daily, even if she is unable to communicate with her. The only problem she has with being dead is that she cannot speak to her daughter, which she thinks is the thing she wants above anything else. Little does she know, her life in the underworld is about to get a whole bunch more interesting.

Apparently in Industrial Magic, which I haven't read yet, the Fates do a favour for Eve. This means that she owes them a favour in return at a later date. This book is when they decide call in their favour. Apparently security in the underworld isn't as secure as people would hope and an evil Nix has escaped. Apparently, this is not a recent thing, but the people that were sent to catch her before were not succesful in bringing her back in. Eve is apparently their last hope. And, wow, does Eve have some times ahead of her. The Nix is crazy. She inhabits people with violent thoughts and then gives them the final push they need to go through with their plans. She has left a lot of death and destruction in her path. The people she inhabits also very rarely get away with what they set out to do, she there have been a lot of arrests, too. This is what the Nix lives off of, though, and this is what Eve has got herself into.

Coupled with an intriguing cast of characters, Eve really delivers in this novel. You really get to know her well, and she gets to know herself. Her guide through this disaster is an angel that I think was inserted for comedic value. He is pretty useless by not being there when Eve needs him and you can't help but laugh at him several times throughout the book. There is also her love interest. He is Savannah's father, but he doesn't feel the need to check up on her nearly as much as her mother does. He just loves Eve and wants them to be together, but Eve isn't thinking about that at the moment. Especially when her involvement with the Nix brings trouble for Savannah and Eve is powerless to do anything about it. The Nix has figured out how she can bring destruction with her without having to take over a body. She will do anything to get that power, and she only has Eve to stop her.

Another really good addition to the series. I don't think I will have any trouble reading the last two in time for the new release the end of September.

The Series:
Bitten
Stolen
Dime Store Magic
Industrial Magic
Haunted
Broken
No Humans Involved
Personal Demon
Living with the Dead
Men of the Otherworld
Frostbitten - Forthcoming