Book Review: Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

Dreg bounty hunter Evangeline "Evy" Stone is dead...well, at least until she awakens on a slab in a morgue in someone else's body.  While dealing with that little surprise, Evy eventually determines that her host body had belonged to one Chalice Frost, a young college student who, for reasons as yet unknown, had committed suicide by slitting her wrists.

But that's only piece in a complex and dangerous puzzle.  The problem is, Evy cannot recall the details of her final days.  A former member of a Triad group of bounty hunters, she recalls that her team had been killed by Halfies during an ambush (Halfies are vampire/human hybrids and are held in disdain by both races).   Yet somehow, Evy had been blamed for their deaths.  In other words, she'd been framed.

Now resurrected, Evy reaches out to her Handler, a Gifted human known as Wyatt Truman.  Handlers are essentially managers of a Triad and Wyatt was her boss.   Reuniting with him, Evy learns that it was he who had bargained to bring her back to life in exchange for his free-will.  The fact that Evy had awakened in another body is a mystery to everyone…at least in the beginning.  

The pair set off to find out why Evy had been framed and whether there is truth to the rumors of a Vampire/Goblin alliance that would threaten humanity.   In their adventures, the pair encounter such familiar dregs as gremlins, goblins, gargoyles, vampires (aka Bloods), Halfies, the Fey, and other mystical elements until their final battle against an all-powerful elf named Tovin.

There is only one problem, Evy's new lifespan is a mere 72 hours. Once she is dead, Wyatt must relinquish his free-will to Tovin as per their deal.   As the time ticks away, will Wyatt and Evy be able to clear her name and garner enough allies to stop an alliance that could consume the earth with pure evil?    

Three Days to Dead is a fast, fun read.  Even without a deep understanding of the urban fantasy genre, any reader that enjoys an action packed story filled with familiar creatures of the night, a little romance and dark humor will enjoy Kelly Meding's opening novel in the Dreg City series.