Book Review: Another Kind of Dead by Kelly Meding
The third installment of the Dreg City series follows a simpler storyline and tighter cast of characters than the first two volumes. The book opens with a scene of closure as Evangeline "Evy" Stone, Wyatt Truman, and Leo Forrester pay their final respects to Leo's son at a local cemetary. Alex had been the roomate of Chalice Frost in whose body Evy had awakened after returning from the dead in book one. Unfortunately, the ever-loyal Alex involved himself in Evy's life as a bounty hunter of the city's non-human inhabitants. For his trouble, Alex had ended up a "Halfie" (human/vampire hybrid), forcing Evy to kill him.
After the funeral, Leo moves on with his life, but not before private detective James Reilly shows up asking questions about things he should know nothing about. However, he speaks only to Leo and Wyatt (Evy's manager-turned-lover) because Evy herself is carrying a crystal of invisibility. Evy is considered a fatality of a warehouse fire set by her fellow bounty hunter. In other words, Evy Stone is dead--again.
After Wyatt dismisses the private investigator, Leo leaves the city to move on with this life but not before Wyatt and Evy are shaken by a minor tremor. The fact that Leo does not feel it indicates that it was not an earthquake, but something meant only for those who are Gifted with special abilities.
Back at their apartment, a man known as Jaron arrives mortally wounded. Jaron is a human host who is occasionally possessed (voluntarily or not) by a member of the Fey, a group of fairies and sprites that live far beneath the Earth's surface near the "Break", the source of all magic. The Fey appear in our world strictly in the form of their avatars (hosts).
Jaron's final words warn of betrayal. No sooner does he die than his killer arrives--a half-goblin/half-human out for blood. After a vicious brawl, Evy and Wyatt manage to subdue the creature and learn that he was sent by one Walter Thackery. Thackery is a scientist that had also been the silent partner of Tovin, the maniacal elf who had been experimenting with hybrid creatures in book one.
As the story unfolds, our heroes come to find that Thackery's wife and son had been attacked by Halfies years before. Thackery had raced to find the antidote to the parasite in vampire saliva, but was unsuccessful. As a result, he had been forced to kill them. Now, the scientist will do whatever it takes to continue his research and find a cure--and no one will stand in his way.
Unfortunately for Evy, her ability to spontaneously heal makes her the perfect test subject for Thackery's "study" (read: torture). When Thackery kidnaps one of Evy's friends and demands an exchange, Evy puts her life on the line yet again. Will she survive Thackery's hidden lab of horrors? Will Thackery find the antidote and if not, what further horrors will the lunatic scientist unleash on the city?
Like the previous volumes, Another Kind of Dead was a quick and enjoyable read. Meding should be applauded for her consistency in both her characters and voice. Again, though, I have to chuckle at how often her characters "flinch" when being told off by Evy. That has actually become a noticeable--and somewhat unnatural--trend. At times, some of the characters abruptly change mood or tone or react in ways that do not quite ring true for the situation, but I chalk that up to Meding's style. Next up, the fourth and final entry in the series (for now), Wrong Side of Dead.
After the funeral, Leo moves on with his life, but not before private detective James Reilly shows up asking questions about things he should know nothing about. However, he speaks only to Leo and Wyatt (Evy's manager-turned-lover) because Evy herself is carrying a crystal of invisibility. Evy is considered a fatality of a warehouse fire set by her fellow bounty hunter. In other words, Evy Stone is dead--again.
After Wyatt dismisses the private investigator, Leo leaves the city to move on with this life but not before Wyatt and Evy are shaken by a minor tremor. The fact that Leo does not feel it indicates that it was not an earthquake, but something meant only for those who are Gifted with special abilities.
Back at their apartment, a man known as Jaron arrives mortally wounded. Jaron is a human host who is occasionally possessed (voluntarily or not) by a member of the Fey, a group of fairies and sprites that live far beneath the Earth's surface near the "Break", the source of all magic. The Fey appear in our world strictly in the form of their avatars (hosts).
Jaron's final words warn of betrayal. No sooner does he die than his killer arrives--a half-goblin/half-human out for blood. After a vicious brawl, Evy and Wyatt manage to subdue the creature and learn that he was sent by one Walter Thackery. Thackery is a scientist that had also been the silent partner of Tovin, the maniacal elf who had been experimenting with hybrid creatures in book one.
As the story unfolds, our heroes come to find that Thackery's wife and son had been attacked by Halfies years before. Thackery had raced to find the antidote to the parasite in vampire saliva, but was unsuccessful. As a result, he had been forced to kill them. Now, the scientist will do whatever it takes to continue his research and find a cure--and no one will stand in his way.
Unfortunately for Evy, her ability to spontaneously heal makes her the perfect test subject for Thackery's "study" (read: torture). When Thackery kidnaps one of Evy's friends and demands an exchange, Evy puts her life on the line yet again. Will she survive Thackery's hidden lab of horrors? Will Thackery find the antidote and if not, what further horrors will the lunatic scientist unleash on the city?
Like the previous volumes, Another Kind of Dead was a quick and enjoyable read. Meding should be applauded for her consistency in both her characters and voice. Again, though, I have to chuckle at how often her characters "flinch" when being told off by Evy. That has actually become a noticeable--and somewhat unnatural--trend. At times, some of the characters abruptly change mood or tone or react in ways that do not quite ring true for the situation, but I chalk that up to Meding's style. Next up, the fourth and final entry in the series (for now), Wrong Side of Dead.
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