Dancing With Werewolves (Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator, #1)

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Dancing With Werewolves (Delilah Street #1)

by Carole Nelson Douglas (Goodreads Author)

3.17 of 5 stars 3.17 · rating details · 1,055 ratings · 125 reviews

It was the revelation of the millennium: witches, werewolves, vampires and other supernaturals are real. Fast-forward 13 years: TV reporter Delilah Street used to cover the small-town bogeyman beat back in Kansas, but now, in high-octane Las Vegas - which is run by a werewolf mob - she finds herself holding back the gates of Hell itself. But at least she has a hot new guy...more

Paperback, 400 pages

Published October 30th 2007 by Pocket Books (first published October 10th 2007)

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Jul 03, 2008 Deborah rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: wickedly savvy people

A strange phenomena--when an author changes style or direction, there's often a violent knee-jerk reaction from fans to the shift. You constantly see people complaining about an author doing the same old, same old. Yet, let a writer give you a fresh premise, a plot totally unlike anything she's done before and readers surprisingly scream, 'burn the witch'. I think readers--fans--often seek long time authors out for 'comfort food'. The books may not be exciting, but you know what your money is go...more A strange phenomena--when an author changes style or direction, there's often a violent knee-jerk reaction from fans to the shift. You constantly see people complaining about an author doing the same old, same old. Yet, let a writer give you a fresh premise, a plot totally unlike anything she's done before and readers surprisingly scream, 'burn the witch'. I think readers--fans--often seek long time authors out for 'comfort food'. The books may not be exciting, but you know what your money is going for it's safe. Despite the whines of 'nothing new', when an author makes that about face, they nearly get stoned!

Carole Nelson Douglas --long time author with over fifty titles to her credit in the Irene Adler series and the Midnight Louie series--hops to another publisher and gives you the wildly zany Dancing With Werewolves. While I love her other stories, I truly enjoyed this book, and look forward to others in the series to come. It's sharply written, very witty and kept me turning pages until I read the whole book in one sitting. As fans become accustomed to this new direction for this talented author, I fully expect to see praise for her new style.

In a genre that's quickly filling with authors left and right, Nelson brings a fresh and sassy voice to Delilah Street. A woman with a dim past, she knows she was named after the street where she was found orphaned. She's currently an investigative reporter heading up the paranormal beat in Wichita, Kansas.

The theme reminded me faintly of the movie Fred Ward did for HBO (Cast a Deadly Spell, 1991), where paranormal was normal. I absolutely adored Ward's Harry Phillip Lovecraft character, so it follows I would enjoy this book, too. While watching a television show, Delilah spots a cadaver being dissected and gets a chill. The 'dead body' could be her twin sister! When the vampire anchorman tries to put the bite on her and she ends up fired, then she loses her dog and her home, Delilah figures someone is trying to tell her it's time to take the show on the road--and find out if there's a clone who may be her sister.

Vegas has always been considered a bit strange, but in this alternative world, werewolves are literally running the town. Besides the werewolves, there are a few witches and other not quite humans that keep the plot moving and full of surprises. As in the Ward movie, it's an odd blend on urban fantasy and film noir that is brought to life under the talented pen...hum...keyboard of Ms. Douglas.

My husband absolutely adored this book, so it should appeal to both sexes

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Apr 08, 2008 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm more partial to werewolves than vampires, and it was great to find this book. While there were a few confusing elements in the story, overall it was entertaining, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series (hopefully there will be one).

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Nov 20, 2012 Susan Ferguson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fantasy, mystery, nook-owned

Interesting concept that the millenium didn't bring the end of the world, but brought all the werewolves, vampires, etc. out into public. Kim Harrison uses a similar premise in her novels. But Carole Douglas puts a slightly different twist on it. The book was kind of fun and I'll probably read more of the series. Douglas also writes the Midnight Louie mysteries and another series I want to try, which is the Irene Adler one. Love her pet Quicksilver.
Delilah Street was raised in an orphanage, neve...more Interesting concept that the millenium didn't bring the end of the world, but brought all the werewolves, vampires, etc. out into public. Kim Harrison uses a similar premise in her novels. But Carole Douglas puts a slightly different twist on it. The book was kind of fun and I'll probably read more of the series. Douglas also writes the Midnight Louie mysteries and another series I want to try, which is the Irene Adler one. Love her pet Quicksilver.
Delilah Street was raised in an orphanage, never adopted altho people thought she was a pretty child. She remembers the Milennium change-over that brought out the werewolves, vampires and other supernatural beings into the open, out in public. She had a certain fascination with those and learned to defend herself from those in the orphanage that were attracted to her looks. The orphanage sent her to high school and a "benefactor" paid her college tuition although she had to earn her own money to live on. She haunted estate sales and bought second-hand clothing, furniture and dishes. She loved the old-fashioned stuff and continued to buy it after she got a job. Delilah was a television news reporter on paranormal or supernatural events or occurrences. She had begun to date the evening news anchor, a vampire, but broke it up when he sneaked an exacto blade into flowers and caused her to cut her finger and sucked the blood. Her little lhaso, Achilles, bit him and died of blood poisoning a day or two later. Then the anchor got it on with the weather witch, who took over Delilah's job and destroyed her house with a tornado. But she had seen someone who looked exactly like her on one of the CSI V episodes. So she goes to Las Vegas to check out who this person is. She goes to the park across from the offices of the production company and runs into a man who tries to show her how to dowse, only he dowses for the dead and showing her how leads them onto a grave with a young couple inside and she is overwhelmed by the feelings of the dead. She later wanders over to the area where the shelter is trying to get animals adopted and finds a huge gray dog with blue eyes. She falls for him and adopts him. She names him Quicksilver, calling him Quick. This adoptions was fortunate for her because Quick is a werehunter, part wolf. He adores her and protects her from all the half-weres and others living in Las Vegas. But Delilah and Ric are determined to find out who the young couple are and what happened to them. Delilah has problems because not only does the woman who was the "body" on the show look just like her, but she was immensely popular and people think its her and keep trying to kidnap her. Delilah is also determined to find this other woman - perhaps she is a twin, too? Delilah was found on a street corner, which is where she received her name.(less)

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Nov 16, 2007 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers of Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series or Kim Harrison's books

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy

I liked this one a lot though it felt incomplete. The mystery of who the dead bodies were wasn't wrapped up - though I'd guess it will be revisited. Lots of action and a smart, snarky heroine.

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Mar 13, 2010 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook-owned, zz-challenge-bcc-fantasy-2010, zz-challenge-new-author-2010, dogs, ebook-read, fantasy, magic-users, mystery, paranormal, read-in-2010, romance, shifter-not-wolf, vampire, urban, zombies-ghouls, werewolf

Very mixed feeling about this. For one thing, the author has written more than 50 novels and won more than 50 writing awards, yet the writing in this is pretty crummy pretty often. There are many odd transitions, sudden topic changes and just weird moments that left me really confused.

For another thing, the author's bio at the end makes a big point about her writing about strong women. Yet Del is a complete victim, from every part of her childhood, to the inexplicable beginning of this book whe...more Very mixed feeling about this. For one thing, the author has written more than 50 novels and won more than 50 writing awards, yet the writing in this is pretty crummy pretty often. There are many odd transitions, sudden topic changes and just weird moments that left me really confused.

For another thing, the author's bio at the end makes a big point about her writing about strong women. Yet Del is a complete victim, from every part of her childhood, to the inexplicable beginning of this book where she loses everything she has worked so hard for due to one bad dating moment, to the entire plot of this book where she is manipulated, blackmailed, kidnapped, lied to by ernemies and even her sort-of allies. Her employer is a sleezy and manipulative as her deadly enemies. Sure, she bounces back a bit, but she puts up with a lot of it without complaint and even with unspoken compliance. She stays in town, takes the job, doesn't even protest about a lot of really invasive and pretty horrifying things (like Snow's "gift"). Even her big romantic breakthrough is due to a psychic incident, not a willing choice on either her part or his. She's a complete and total victim, mostly a willing one.

And the most annoying thing in the whole book is the VERY often repeated assertation that Del is Black Irish. She was abandoned, found at 3 days old. White skin and black hair is not exclusively reserved for only Black Irish. I have a few Eastern European family members who would refute that. It's just annoying. If you make your character an orphan you don't get to choose her heritage and you shouldn't repeat the same stupid story over and over again, regardless. End rant.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the homage to old Hollywood. There are a ton of great old, and even modern, references. Some of the supporting characters are pretty interesting with mysteries yet to be explored the CinSims are very clever, perfect for this Vegas tale. I don't really get the system of magic, but it does have some original aspects. I love the dogs and want to know more about Quick's secrets. And she tantalizingly left the mystery partially solved, a smart move in the first book in a series. It's enough to make me want to pick up the next book. But I don't think it's enough to make me want to try some of the books the author is more famous for.(less)

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Oct 04, 2009 Lexie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-blog, genre-urban-fantasy, books-owned, genre-mystery

Okay let me be fair here--the first...9 chapters are like listening to someone monologue their life. Its a bit repetitive, somewhat awkward and stiff, but interesting enough. Around Chapter 10 however, when Delilah lands herself in Las Vegas (for various reasons), it starts getting more interesting. We have much more interaction with people other then herself, the blossoming of her paranormal skills and heck its Las Vegas. That's interesting for me.

Unfortunately the narrative remains scattered a...more

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Apr 19, 2009 Julia rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found this book pretty terrible, but at times (key phrase here, 'at times') in that so-bad-it's-amusing way. Some flaws amused more than others. Tense switching occurred in some scenes where I presume the author was trying to involve the reader in the action - but jarring confusion was the result instead. I wish the author had stuck to past tense, or at least been more consistent in tense switching during action moments.

More amusing were the eye-roll-inducing stereotypes and ethnic fetishes. T...more I found this book pretty terrible, but at times (key phrase here, 'at times') in that so-bad-it's-amusing way. Some flaws amused more than others. Tense switching occurred in some scenes where I presume the author was trying to involve the reader in the action - but jarring confusion was the result instead. I wish the author had stuck to past tense, or at least been more consistent in tense switching during action moments.

More amusing were the eye-roll-inducing stereotypes and ethnic fetishes. The heroine is 'Black Irish', as the author reminds ad nauseam, even though she was *abandoned as an infant* and knows nothing of her heritage. As part of this, the author belabours her 'lily-white', gorgeously pale skin, her 'baby blues', and she is of course totally gorgeous, very slender but with cleavage, and desired by all despite lacking self-confidence. Mary Sue FAIL! The hero, Ric, is even worse in this regard. He's LATIN and epitomises every cliché ever, and his 'coffee-colored' etc skin gets as much screen time as Delilah's porcelain version. An excerpt of this ridiculousness:

"The dowser was looking as dazed and embarassed as I felt, thank God. His rich cocoa-colored skin had an ashy undertone. Tiny beads of sweat swept across his forehead, catching the twilight like a diadem.
He looked...dazzling. Like a fairyland lord come to take me away. From the electricity I'd felt between us, I was ready to go anywhere."

Borrowing from Twilight, I see. Unfortunately, I can rarely stand to read the word 'dazzling' (or variations) after the damage that series wreaked on the poor word. There are countless other instances of terrible similes; some of them made so little sense or were so random I just scratched my head, others were so vividly unusual I couldn't help but laugh. Whatever faults the author has, she does not lack for creative description!

If you can overlook the bizarre and the chiché, the many references to classic cinema were an interesting angle within paranormal romance, and the futuristic fantasy world was interesting, too, if somewhat shoddily and incompletely constructed - in particular the CinSims, who defy known science and whose workings remained unexplained.

The plot was decent although incredibly scattered, the dialogue usually bearable, and some of the ideas (Delilah and Ric's powers, other supernatural creatures) were creative and interesting. The author possesses a broad vocabulary and isn't afraid to flaunt it, but abuses her thesaurus. On the whole I found Delilah likeable; other than being a virginal victim (so overdone and so not appealing), she rarely annoyed. I finished the book, and it was *entertaining*, but I have no desire to ever read more by this author, let alone further in the series.(less)

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Nov 17, 2007 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one!

Shelves: urban-fantasy, unfinished

I only got to page 100 before give up - it was like trying to follow someone with a bad case of ADD and the writing abilities of a 5th grader. By page 60, the main characters had a date go terribly wrong, sorry her henceforth undiscovered twin carved up on a CSI show; had her dog die of blood poisoning; effectively lost her job/beat as a reporter; lost her house due to the actions of her co-worker - a weather witch - for no real reason whatsoever; mentioned 45 gazillion times that her Snow White...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Janet rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I've enjoyed novels by Carole Nelson Douglas in her Midnight Louie series and her Irene Adler series, but her first Delilah Street Paranormal Investigator novel Dancing with Werewolves left me cringing. I liked some of the characters and elements of the world building in a short story featuring Delilah Street, in a near-future Las Vegas saturated with supernaturals. Douglas's idea of CinSims -- famous movie characters personalities overlaid onto zombies -- was particularly original and perfect f...more I've enjoyed novels by Carole Nelson Douglas in her Midnight Louie series and her Irene Adler series, but her first Delilah Street Paranormal Investigator novel Dancing with Werewolves left me cringing. I liked some of the characters and elements of the world building in a short story featuring Delilah Street, in a near-future Las Vegas saturated with supernaturals. Douglas's idea of CinSims -- famous movie characters personalities overlaid onto zombies -- was particularly original and perfect for a glitzy, supernaturally-ruled Vegas. However, in novel form I didn't find the world or characters convincing in key areas. While I liked the CinSims, I didn't get the sense that Douglas had well-thought-out cultures for her 'classic' supernaturals; her werewolves were simple thugs and her vampires were dangerous comic relief. Douglas was vague about the situation that caused supernaturals to emerge into the public eye; it's described obscurely as a somewhat gradual millenium apocalyptic event. (huh? Yup, that's what I said, too. I much prefer Kim Harrison's tomato plague, or Ilona Andrews' start of magic/tech shifts). A few other plot events, such as the final event that triggers Delilah's move away from Kansas, also are poorly integrated into the story. While some of the secondary characters were delightfully weird, Delilah Street herself didn't feel believable in her career, emotional reactions, and choices.

I had the hardest time with how Douglas handled violence. Delilah is assaulted four times in the first fifty pages of the novel, and more times after that. It didn't always feel important to the plot. Delilah didn't react much to these attempts, and I didn't buy it - it made the violence seem more gratuitous than revealing of her personality and personal history. That a single paranormal encounter suddenly freed up her sexual libido -- after a long childhood history or the threat of sexual assault, and with constant current threats -- felt cheap. Also, I didn't get the sense that the Vegas teeming with giggly tourists was such a dark and violent dystopia that it would justify Delilah shrugging off the number of assaults as unremarkable. Both Kansas and Vegas are presented as very much a man's world- every (non-zombie) male that Delilah encounters is misogynistic, domineering and unabashedly sexually harassing, but we aren't told why the emergence of the supernatural has led to the complete quashing of everything PC. Why is the world this way? Why? Convince me! Taken together, the sensationalist and easily dismissed violence against a woman, and the strong-man-to-the-rescue refrain felt like an action B-movie. There are hints of more interesting plot developments to come, though, with Delilah's newly discovered abilities, odd sightings in mirrors, and the possibility of fighting for CinSim rights.(less)

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Jan 13, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban, fantasy, funny

First in the Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator urban fantasy series based in Las Vegas and revolving around an intrepid reporter turned investigator.

My Take
Douglas sets up the series in this story and I'm torn. Part of me is irritated with her uneven writing but a larger part of me [no pun intended!] is intrigued with her cast of characters and where Douglas intends to take it.

Douglas has so much going on: Delilah discovering her psychic side along with the mirror abilities as well as he...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Alisa rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was disappointed with this book. It really had potential, but Ms. Douglas' writing style is very bizarre. I spent a lot of time just trying to understand what the hell was going on. Also, she changes tenses for whole sections of the book for no apparent reason. Most of it is written in past tense, as is normal, but every now and then, she switches into present tense, and I can't figure out why. Carrie Vaughn also does this in her Kitty Norville books, but the present tense parts are always whe...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Lady Rogue rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Delilah Street, named from the intersection she was orphaned at, had no past. So, when she watched her reoccuring nightmares come to life on a popular tv show, Las Vegas CSI, she was confused and curious. Clone, Twin, Doppleganger? Delilah didn't know. But, the woman being autospied on the table was the spitting image of her, right down to the blue topaz nose stud. Delilah's evening had gone from stange to bad, when her co-worker / vampire boyfriend hid razor blades in the stems, of the roses he...more Delilah Street, named from the intersection she was orphaned at, had no past. So, when she watched her reoccuring nightmares come to life on a popular tv show, Las Vegas CSI, she was confused and curious. Clone, Twin, Doppleganger? Delilah didn't know. But, the woman being autospied on the table was the spitting image of her, right down to the blue topaz nose stud. Delilah's evening had gone from stange to bad, when her co-worker / vampire boyfriend hid razor blades in the stems, of the roses he gave her, in the hopes to get a taste her blood. As a result of his deceit, her faithful and beloved Dog Achilles died protecting her. Then to top it off, she learned the bastard was seeing a weather witch on the side. So, she not only had to leave her job, but the vindictive weather witch placed a curse on her, which destroyed her home. So, Deliliah was left with no dog, no home, no boyfriend, and no job. She had nothing left in Kansas to keep her. She decided, it would be a good time to travel to Las Vegas and discover what she could about her "twin" and perhaps answers to her own past.

Sin City was not what Delilah expected. Back in Kansas, events of the paranormal were still considered a novelty. But in Las Vegas, it was a way of life and the werewolves that ran the city. You see, at the turn of the millennium, it wasn't the computers crashing that had changed the way of life for humanity, it was the paranormal creatures of myth and legend making themselves known to the world. Soon, people discovered that vampires, witches, werewolves and other creatures were very much real.

When Delilah confronted writer/producer Hector Nightwine of Nightwine Productions, about the infamous autopsy, he too was curious and ended up giving her a job and a place to stay. She also managed to find a companion in a wolfhound, she named Quicksilver. Delilah soon met Ric Montoya, a former FBI agent and cadaver dowser. The attraction was immediate. With her help, they manage to stumble on a mysterious murder of a dead couple. Her curiousity and investigative skills led her into the underbelly of Sin City. But, it wasn't easy...because of her look alike counterpart, Delilah's infamous appearance, was at times a hindrance. During her investigations, she met Snow, rocker and owner of the Club Inferno. He was sexy, mysterious, and had taken a shine to her. He sent her a most unusual gift, a single strand of his hair. It was embedded with a little of his magic. It became a sort of an unwanted familiar, that had the ability to morphed into various things like jewelry, clothing, and objects of protection. That begged the question, who and what exactly was Snow?

I absolutely loved Delilah's character. She had a sassy and practical personality. Yet, she was also a dreamer and had a tendancy to talked to herself, or as she called it "her inner girfriend". She also favored anything vintage, which included her car, Dolly, and what was left of her clothes. As she learned more about her "twin", the more she learned about herself. Along the journey of her self discovery, she also discovered, she had an enate ability with silver and mirrors and that she might not be, as human as she thought she was.

Overall, Carole Nelson Douglas did an amazing job creating an alternate world, filled with artistic imagery, unique and compelling characters, and a most unusual and original plot. I absolutely loved the concept of the CinSims, short for "Cinema Simulatcrums". My interpetation: 'the essence of a character from TV or movie that was magically enhanced into a sort corporeal form'. I am thinking something like Humphry Bogart coming to life, yet maintaining his film Noir appearance, but in a real world and colorful enviroment. Think about the possiblities. How many times, have you heard the phrase, "' What if ' Life was like a movie.." It really does give a whole new meaning, to a movie coming to life. The author pulls on the imagination and stretches it beyond in this original, gritty, and highly imaginative urban fantasy.

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Feb 19, 2010 Brigitte rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ir-reading-books-rick-s-advisory

This book is about a woman named Delilah Street. She was has always attracted vamps and other blood suckers in the future world were supernatural creatures exist in regular day life. Delilah moves to LA and meets a man named Ric who she falls for and gets a dog named Quicksilver to fill the void of her former dead dog. They were all brought together by a murder of two vamp/werewolf lovers in a park. Now Delilah must solve the murder while avoiding the pissed off vamps and werewolves who have so...more

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Feb 07, 2009 Rhianna rated it 2 of 5 stars

As if the Y2K bug wasn't enough to freak people out about the turn of the millenium, the supernaturals decided to come out of the closet. Now years later they're a pretty normal part of everyday life. Enter Delilah Street, Kansas TV reporter who investigates the happenings of the furred, fanged and just plain weird. Abandoned at birth Delilah grew up in a Catholic orphanage and has a lot of odd issues stemming from some vampire related 'maybe-I-lost-my-virginity-maybe-I-didn't' event. When her h...more As if the Y2K bug wasn't enough to freak people out about the turn of the millenium, the supernaturals decided to come out of the closet. Now years later they're a pretty normal part of everyday life. Enter Delilah Street, Kansas TV reporter who investigates the happenings of the furred, fanged and just plain weird. Abandoned at birth Delilah grew up in a Catholic orphanage and has a lot of odd issues stemming from some vampire related 'maybe-I-lost-my-virginity-maybe-I-didn't' event. When her home in Kansas is destroyed she packs up her vintage clothes and heads for Las Vegas in search of a woman she saw on an episode of LVCSI who might be her twin.

Vegas, it turns out, is one weird city after the millenium revelation. Run by the werewolf mob and home to more than a few creatures that bear no simple classification, it's not the Sin City everyone knows and loves. Setting up shop in the city Delilah makes the acquaintance of, Ric, a hunky hispanic dowser who finds corpses for the FBI, an albino rock-star and entrepreneur who might be a vampire and an eccentric, lecherous TV producer who owns the likeness rights of Delilah's mysterious twin, Lilith. When she and Ric have an out-of-this-world experience and come upon a decades old pair of murder victims Del and her trusty wolfhound, Quicksilver, are on the hunt for answers.

Conceptually, I really liked this book. The idea of the paranormal community deciding to go public and the world surrounding it really works in this story. Douglas is a pretty decent scene setter who only occassionally gets lost in the details to the point of being annoying. Delilah is, however, a really hard heroine to like. She's got weird hang-ups and her obsession with vintage things long beyond eras she should be so easily inclined to considering her orphanage upbringing feels forced. There something very one-dimensional about her that I just couldn't quite put my finger on and didn't get over by the end of the book. The worst was the constant comments from Irma, her supposed inner voice. Who names their inner voice? It came across almost like a seperate entity and made me hope that Douglas was just trying to be funny.

While I liked the eccentric side characters, Snow and Nightwine, I found that they were ALL eccentric which was a bit of overkill. There were also a few concepts within the story that she never really explained in any way that made them make sense. CinSims especially confused me. I did fall in love with Quicksilver though. A protective doggy companion was a nice touch. While I also, like many other readers have commented, like the silver familiar gifted to Del from Snow the constant mentions of it changing its shape and location got a bit creepy.

Overall it was enjoyable enough I think I will go ahead and read the second in the series. But, since it was a bit of a frustrating read and I don't really care for the author's writing style I don't know about beyond that. Dancing With Werewolves left a lot of unanswered questions and did not have a particularly satisfying ending, if the trend continues these just aren't the books for me. (less)

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Feb 28, 2011 Yvensong rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: werewolves, vampire, library, zombies

1 1/2 stars
When NaNoWriMos Go Bad

Spelling of names varies, continuity is almost non-existent, tense flips back and forth between past and present without rhyme or reason.

Oh, wait! That's how NaNoWriMos usually look at the end of the frenzied month of writing. Then lots of re-reading, editing, and then more re-reading and editing goes into it -- hopefully catching and fixing all the messy errors.

This novel, sadly, appears to just have skipped that all-important process and was published as is.

Ou...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Viccy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Delilah Street is a TV reporter in Kansas. Raised as an orphan, she knows nothing about her past. She loves being on TV and digging up the best stories on the air. It's 2013 and during the Millennium Turn of 2000, the supernatural came out to tell the world they existed. After viewing an episode of CSI 13: Las Vegas, featuring a corpse that could be her doppelganger, Delilah heads to Sin City to find out who she is. She adopts a dog who may be more than a mere dog; she meets Ric Montoya, former...more

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Jul 01, 2010 MarsianMan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Miss Delilah Street is an investigator/reporter who sees herself naked on the autopsy table of a CSI clone TV show. She must find out more about her "twin". She journeys to Las Vegas and meets up with a mysterious and sexy Latin man who (with her) dowses and experiences a long dead couple. She must find out more about him, the dead couple, and herself.

The book started out quite well paced and intriguing but midway through, I found I had lost the rhythm of the story and no matter how hard I trie...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Deena rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Deena by: Val Frank

Shelves: fantasy-paranormal

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A tiny sliver of me would like to give this a 3, because for a few pages, it was a fun read.

The rest of me wanted to give it a 1. We compromised at 2.

Where to start? If I had to sum this book up in one word, it would "sloppy." Sloppy editing - typos like I don't usually see outside my own typing. Not the author's fault, of course. But as for the sloppy writing... again: where to start???

The protagonist:
Is she a split personality? How can "Irma" be in control enough to make shopping decisions?
Is...more

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Nov 11, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007-reads

See my review for "Brimstone Kiss" where I give a very short synopsis of "Dancing With Werewolves", the first book in the Delilah Street series that leads to "Brimstone Kiss". A complex blend of mystery, paranormal, romance, suspense, action, and Hollywood trivia!

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Aug 16, 2012 Carla rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fun read--very different from what I usually think of as Carole Nelson Douglas. Delilah Street is an investigative reporter in a world where vampires, werewolves and other beasties have crawled out of the woodwork on the day of the Big Uneasy. Why not 5 stars? Well, Delilah is beautiful, but doesn't think so. Has extremely pale skin and attracts vampires like flies (nearly literally...they see her and won't leave her alone) and has a "mysterious beginning" as an orphan. All of these things mak...more

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Feb 19, 2009 The Flooze rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, vanquished_2009

After about 60 or 70 pages, I could go no further. Poorly written, disjointed, and repetitive. I only held on as long as I did in the hopes that, once the main character found her goal, the author would pick up the pace. She didn't. And razor blades in roses? Really?

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Oct 27, 2008 Jim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal-urban

Eminently forgettable, unfortunately. Not bad, but it's only been a couple of months since I read it & I had to read the description to bring back any real memory of it. So the writing wasn't terrible, but the story line wasn't that interesting, either.

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Dec 28, 2011 Dan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: signal

The main character is theoretically an investigator, but she spends most of her time trying on sexy vintage outfits and flirting. There are several mystery threads running through the book, but none of them are resolved by the end.

I want to gripe about the worldbuilding. Apparently it's possible to extract personalities from movies and impress them onto zombies. (But it only works with black-and-white movies? And the resulting zombies take on the black-and-white appearance of the original?) For...more

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Feb 07, 2009 Elise rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was looking for the latest Midnight Louie book, but instead ended up with this one thinking it would be a bit different. Well, it was a bit different. Instead of the increasingly quaint Las Vegas of the early '90s, we have a "post-millenial" paranormal Las Vegas. Instead of plucky heroine Temple with an un-neutered cat obsessing over shoes, we have the plucky heroine Delilah with un-neutered dog obsessing over vintage clothes. Gee.

There are differences apart from the obvious -- mostly its lik...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Vfields needs to be happy! rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. It had so much promise. When the Y2K thing happened the mystical, magical creatures came out of the closet if you will. I couldn’t tell if they were made at that moment or if they just surfaced but there you are. Fourteen years later this woman is a news reporter and she sees her double as a corpse on CSI Las Vegas. She meets a guy who knows the lay of the land and gets a wolf hound and see all kinds of things and the story just keeps going on ma...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Delilah Street was a strong character, and I was fairly easily drawn into her world. It's a decent urban fantasy, if you like that kind of thing, with the usual fun of vamps and werewolves. At least the romantic interest is NOT a bloodsucker. :)

Something kept me from loving this, though. Maybe it was the total lack of resolution at the end....we had essentially no answers, just a fistful of questions I can barely hold in my hands. Although I was starting to feel eh about this before that...maybe...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Author Douglas has created a new world after the "Millenium Revelation" and it takes a bit to get used this new reality. Once the story started to unfold I found that I was able to suspend disbelief and be a part of the post millenium world she described. It helped that I am also a old-movie buff. My daughter, who also read the book, was lost with all the Nick and Nora Charles and other golden age references....more

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Feb 06, 2011 Megan Dolle-blaisdell rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to reading another Vamp-Trampy-Paranormal-Romancy-Shapeshifting fun book, but this one was definately not what I was looking for. I find it hard to read, hard to remember the comings and goings, the plot is dicey, and the heroine is annoying. The characters aren't very well developed and for some reason she takes to kidnapping like it's no big deal. In one particular instance, she is running with her dog and 2 guys show up to take her to their boss and with no questi...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Jen Peony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I hadn't read or even heard of Carole Nelson Douglas before chancing upon Dancing With Warewolves in the Kindle Store. I found Dancing With Warewolves to be an original and imaginative story but struggled to get to grips with the author's writing style - she infers a lot in romantically phrased sentences that are descriptically vague and it was difficult for me to pick up what was happening without having to re-read them! I loved the relationships between Delilah and the other key characters in...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-by-both-of-us

Dancing with Werewolves
By Carol Nelson Douglas

This book was just okay, but nothing to convince me to keep reading the series. It is rather snarky and quirky which might appeal to some including me but ultimately, it just didn’t win me over. There are so many urban fantasies out there including the entire subgenre of snarky girl and a narrative with a light careless tone despite all the death and destruction. Urban fantasy has become so huge that yes now there are even subgenres of it.

Like so man...more Dancing with Werewolves
By Carol Nelson Douglas

This book was just okay, but nothing to convince me to keep reading the series. It is rather snarky and quirky which might appeal to some including me but ultimately, it just didn’t win me over. There are so many urban fantasies out there including the entire subgenre of snarky girl and a narrative with a light careless tone despite all the death and destruction. Urban fantasy has become so huge that yes now there are even subgenres of it.

Like so many series in urban fantasy, Dancing with Werewolves begins with an explanation of how witches, werewolves, zombies, and vampires were revealed to the world. In this universe it happened in the year 2000 for some sort of mystical reason. This is all explained in the prologue.

***Spoiler Alert***
The rest of the review is chock full spoilers.

Thirteen years later, our heroine Delilah Street is a television reporter in Kansas. Delilah was abandoned as an infant and raised in an orphanage. This is revealed very early on so that surely will be significant at some point later in the book. Everything changes for Delilah when she sees an actress playing a dead woman on an episode of CSI who looks to be her long lost identical twin.

Delilah has a vampire boyfriend Ted who apparently is a complete ass. They fight and he moves on immediately to another co-worker at the television station. Meanwhile, the reader might start to notice that Delilah has a snarky nickname for everyone : Undead Ted, slo-mo Eddie, Fuck-up Freddy…you get the idea. We also discover, that for some reason, vamps absolutely can’t resist Delilah.
After her dog dies and weather witch destroys her home, Delilah decides that she that she has had enough and sets her sights on Vegas home of her presumed twin.
In Vegas Delilah meets Ric Montoya, a water dowser. Instant chemistry of course. They accidently psychically discover an old burial with two murder victims. They bond over that. She adopts a huge dog. She track’s down Hector Nightwine of Nightwine production in an attempt to find the actress from the CSI episode. He turns out to be a ghoul.

She is accosted by a pack of werewolves and discovers her new dog is very kick ass and she names him Quicksilver. She discovers that her erstwhile sister is named Lilith and apparently dead.

As Delilah gets closer to Ric, she soon discovers that Quicksilver is not at all fond of sharing her. She works the murder case, evades vampires and dirty cops, and delves into the unsavory business corpse trafficking (for reanimation)…and generally just runs around Vegas discovering wackiness. There is a kidnapping, a stint at a Vegas show, a vampire named Snow, a 60 year murder mystery involving a forbidden romance between a werewolf and a vampire, a zombie army. Yeah, there is a ton going on in this book.

In the end she discovers that Ric is an animator – raising and army of zombies to protect them from a pack of werewolves. Then everything is wrapped up in a nice bow by the end of the last chapter.
(less)

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About Carole Nelson Douglas

Carole Nelson Douglas is the author of sixty award-winning novels in contemporary and historical mystery/suspense and romance, high and urban fantasy and science fiction genres. She is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler historical suspense novels and the 25-book Midnight Louie contemporary mystery series. Delilah Street, PI (Paranormal Investigator), headlines Carole's noir...more Carole Nelson Douglas is the author of sixty award-winning novels in contemporary and historical mystery/suspense and romance, high and urban fantasy and science fiction genres. She is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler historical suspense novels and the 25-book Midnight Louie contemporary mystery series. Delilah Street, PI (Paranormal Investigator), headlines Carole's noir Urban Fantasy series.

Once Upon a Midnight Noir is newly out in eBook and trade paperback versions. This author-designed and illustrated collection of three mystery stories with a paranormal twist and a touch of romance features two award-winning stories featuring Midnight Louie, feline PI and Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator in a supernatural-run Las Vegas. A third story completes the last unfinished story fragment of Edgar Allan Poe, as a Midnight Louie Past Life adventure set in 1790 Norland on a isolated island lighthouse. Louie is a soldier of fortune, a la Puss in Boots.

Next out are Midnight Louie's Cat in a White Tie and Tails in paperback July 2, 2013, and Cat in an Alien X-Ray in hardcover Aug. 6, 2013.

All the Irene Adler novels, the first to feature a woman from the Sherlock Holmes Canon as a crime solver, are now available in eBook.

Carole was a college theater and English literature major who worked as a newspaper reporter and then editor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she discovered a long, expensive classified advertisement offering a black cat named Midnight Louey to the "right" home for one dollar and wrote a feature story on the plucky survival artist, putting it into the cat's point of view. The cat found a country home, but its name was revived for her feline PI mystery series many years later. Some of the Midnight Louie series entries include the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough."

Hollywood and Broadway director, playwright, screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin took Carole's first novel to his publisher on the basis of an interview/article she'd done with him five years earlier. "My friend Phil Silvers," he wrote, "would say he'd never won an interview yet, but he had never had the luck of you."

Carole is a "literary chameleon" who's had novels published in many genres, and often mixes such genre elements as mystery and suspense, fantasy and science fiction, romance and mainstream. (less)

More about Carole Nelson Douglas...

Books by Carole Nelson Douglas

Good Night, Mr. Holmes (Irene Adler, #1)

Brimstone Kiss (Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator, #2)

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Dancing With Werewolves (Delilah Street #1)

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