Book Review: Dead Witch Walking (Rachel Morgan #1) by Kim Harrison

Summary:

The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves—creatures of dreams and nightmares—has lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything.

Rachel Morgan, witch and bounty hunter with the Inderland Runner Services, is one of the best at apprehending supernatural lawbreakers throughout Cincinnati, but when it comes to following the rules, she falls desperately short. Determined to buck the system, she quits and takes off on the run with an I.S. contract on her head and is reluctantly forced to team up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner . . . and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crime lord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death . . . not to mention her own roommate.

Review:

This is a fairly strong start to a great paranormal series.  Like many other series, Harrison just jumps right in and it almost feels like we're coming in at the middle of the story.  The book starts with Rachel quitting her job at the IS and then she must survive the subsequent death contract.  She moves in with her friends, Ivy the vampire and Jenks the pixy.  If you don't like reading about spells and witchcraft, this series is not for you, because Rachel spends a lot of time "stirring spells" as she calls it.

Just One Gripe:

It took me a few chapters to really "get" this story.  Harrison doesn't exactly spell things out for her readers, no pun intended.

The Best Thing About This Book:

The cast of characters.

Appropriate for a younger audience:

No

Score:

Characters:  5/5

Plot:  4/5

Setting/Imagery:  3/5

Originality:  4/5

Ending:  4/5

Total Score:  20/25