The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

This was the make or break book for me for this series. The first book, "Dead Witch Walking" showed promise but left me wondering if I really cared what happened to the main character, Rachel Morgan. The second book, "The Good, The Bad And The Undead" sealed the deal for me.

It is better written, faster moving and has a much better plot than the first book. It starts with an action scene, Rachel on a Run to capture... a koi? Fast action mixed with dry humour set the tone for the book. At least I thought it did. Then, about halfway through, things got darker and much, much better.

What cranked up the quality was the relationship between Rachel and her vampire roommate. In the first book, this had been stylish and cool and intriguing. In show more this book, it becomes central to the plot and becomes much more about an intense relationship between two strong women struggling with secrets kept and confidences betrayed.

In this book, Rachel has finally stopped whining and started to take responsibility for herself and deal with her situation. She starts to accept that she should be using her abilities as a witch and not just stumbling along.

Unfortunately, she does this just at the point that witches are being killed across the city.

Just about everything I learned in book one is revisited in a new context with more information and shifts into a new pattern. This is very well done and the final pattern is much stronger than I expected it to be.

The baddies in this book are less black and white and the goodies turn out not to be who or what we thought they were.

Overall, "The Good, The Bad And The Undead" is a step up from its predecessor and delivers a solid but still stylish piece of Urban Supernatural Fantasy.

As usual, Marguerite Gavin does an excellent job with the narration. Click on the SoundCloud link below to sample her delivery

https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio/the-good-the-bad-and-the-undead-kim-harrison show less

I am glad that I finally got around to reading this book. I enjoy the chaos that is Rachel and her life. She makes a LOT of bad decisions but she eventually gets to where she wants to be. Trent is an interesting contradiction. I can't decide if I like him or not. In book 1, he was obviously the bad guy but now it is hard to tell. The lines have been blurred. The demon has also made things interesting. Rachel's decision regarding him can't have good results. I am curious to see where this leads her. I am intrigued by this series and can't wait to read more.

I connected with Rachel Morgan much more in this second installment in the series. Surprisingly (since I did not feel the same way about the first in the series), I literally couldn't put this one down and read it all in one sitting. However, I still don't like Rachel Morgan very much. She is incredibly careless, and her carelessness usually ends up getting someone else hurt. Nick, and especially Ivy, suffer because of her thoughtlessness and immaturity. Jenks' kids seem more mature than Rachel at times.

There is a lot of pseudo-angst around Ivy and Rachel's living arrangements that I could have done without. It's like Harrison was trying to put in some lesbian tension without actually having the characters be lesbian. It fell short and felt kinda... greasy... because they'd have their pseudo-lesbian spat and Rachel would run off to have detailed sex with Nick (who, by the way, is as flat a character as I've ever seen in these kind of novels).

That being said... the story does pick up just after the halfway point and the plot actually becomes quite interesting and the author at least attempts to explain the weird relationship between Rachel and Ivy... though I never did end up liking Nick at all. Rachel can and should do better than that show more sad sack.

I will certainly be reading more in the series since I'm beginning to quite like the dynamics between Rachel and the rest of the recurring characters. show less

Ley line witches are being murdered in Cincinnati. Rachel has been hired as an Inderlander consultant to help track down the killer. But Rachel will have to use magic she loathes in order to discover the truth. And where it leads her, there is no coming back from. If she isn't careful, she may just end up in debt to a demon and lose her soul.

The dynamics of Kim Harrison's characters have always been the reason I continued this series. Rachel alone would not be enough to carry the story. Her impulsiveness makes her wind up in entertaining situations, but she isn't a strong enough heroine. She's still learning, fumbling about and without Ivy and Jenks, I doubt she would make it far. As a character, Rachel has a lot of development to go show more through, but that's the point of reading a series right?

I do have to admit Ivy is my favorite character. I always fall for the torn and conflicted ones, and Ivy fits that bill. She is the strong female character I always gravitate towards, and seeing her in a secondary character role makes me savor the moments she is on the page. I also love the friendship between Rachel and Ivy. Rachel won't abandon Ivy, despite any hiccups that may happen between the two of them. This makes me appreciate Rachel more as a character. Kim has built a world where living vampires are slaves to their instincts, and watching Ivy continue to struggle against her basic instincts, all in a fight to just be a normal friend to someone tears me up.

I'm glad to say I am enjoying this series just as much as I did ten years ago when it first hit the shelves. If you want a series filled with action, friendship, sarcastic comedy, and demons, pick this one up. show less

Ley line witches are being murdered in Cincinnati. Rachel has been hired as an Inderlander consultant to help track down the killer. But Rachel will have to use magic she loathes in order to discover the truth. And where it leads her, there is no coming back from. If she isn't careful, she may just end up in debt to a demon and lose her soul.

The dynamics of Kim Harrison's characters have always been the reason I continued this series. Rachel alone would not be enough to carry the story. Her impulsiveness makes her wind up in entertaining situations, but she isn't a strong enough heroine. She's still learning, fumbling about and without Ivy and Jenks, I doubt she would make it far. As a character, Rachel has a lot of development to go show more through, but that's the point of reading a series right?

I do have to admit Ivy is my favorite character. I always fall for the torn and conflicted ones, and Ivy fits that bill. She is the strong female character I always gravitate towards, and seeing her in a secondary character role makes me savor the moments she is on the page. I also love the friendship between Rachel and Ivy. Rachel won't abandon Ivy, despite any hiccups that may happen between the two of them. This makes me appreciate Rachel more as a character. Kim has built a world where living vampires are slaves to their instincts, and watching Ivy continue to struggle against her basic instincts, all in a fight to just be a normal friend to someone tears me up.

I'm glad to say I am enjoying this series just as much as I did ten years ago when it first hit the shelves. If you want a series filled with action, friendship, sarcastic comedy, and demons, pick this one up. show less

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
3 Stars

The first book in the series was entertaining enough to continue on to the second, but Rachel and Ivy’s creepy relationship had me putting the book on the back burner halfway through. Nevertheless, a buddy read pulled me back into the story about a year later and I’m grateful to my buddies as the book improved a great deal in the second half.

Harrison’s world building is very engaging. The dichotomy between humans and supernaturals and the distinctions between the various species makes for interesting reading and raises intriguing questions for future installments.

The plot revolving around Rachel’s investigation into the disappearance and apparent deaths of several ley line witches show more develops slowly as new characters are introduced and the suspect pool expands. That said, the action heats up at the halfway mark and the climax and resolution are ultimately exciting and satisfying.

Rachel is an intelligent and resourceful heroine, but her relationship with Ivy is seriously disturbing. Although Rachel’s sympathy and loyalty toward Ivy is understandable, Ivy is constantly overstepping the boundaries ostensibly out of a desire to help, but its seems more like an attempt at seduction. Moreover, Ivy’s aggression and Rachel’s feelings of guilt and remorse reek of abuse and a form of battered wife syndrome. All of this has a rather distasteful feel to it and puts a damper on an otherwise compelling story.

Nick and Rachel’s romance is another problematic issue. Nick definitely has his own suspicious agenda and the developments in his characterization in this book do not bode well for the future nor do they endear him to me one iota. Hopefully, he is on his way out.

On a more positive note, the mystery of Trent and Rachel’s connection, as warped as it seems at the moment, is the most captivating aspect of this book (and the first). Trent is a fascinating character. The more I learn about his enigmatic identity and morally ambiguous business dealings, the more I want to know. Thus, getting to the roots of his contentious relationship with Rachel and discovering what lies ahead for them both is what keeps me interested in continuing with the series.

All in all, not a bad read despite its problems and the unanswered questions have me eager to read the next one. show less