The Outlaw Demon Wails, Kim Harrison
The Outlaw Demon Wails, Book 6 in the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison, hit bookshelves February 26, 2008.
Set in Cincinnati, Ohio and its fictional counterpart called The Hollows, this installment follows Rachel as she gets herself into a whole new batch of trouble.
Rachel Morgan, witch, runner, and alleged demon summoner, has anything but a boring life. She’s had a hit put on her by the supernatural version of the FBI, survived an infiltration into a werewolf militia base, been targeted by not one, but multiple demons, and her boyfriend has recently been killedtwice. Resolved to change her life for the better, she has decided to quit playing games with vampires and other creatures that might rip her throat out and find a way to be demon free. But life isn’t that easy.
Marshal, the hunky diving instructor from Mackinaw Island, shows up at her church’s doorstep, surprising Rachel with the knowledge that he’s moving to Cincy. Does she dare pursue him so soon after Kisten’s death, or try to keep things on a purely friend level? Jenks, her pixy partner, finds a rather unusual guest in the belfry who can detect ley lines. Ivy is learning how to disassociate violence with blood-letting, but a trial run gone wrong causes Rachel to have a flashback of Kisten’s killer. What else could go on? Oh, that’s right. Someone has been summoning Al out of demon jail and letting him loose to kill Rachel at his leisure.
With all these twists and turns, The Outlaw Demon Wails is by far the most surprising book in the series. The risk of the storyline becoming too daytime television is minimized by Kim Harrison’s attention to detail and ability to weave a believable story using vampires, elves, and demons who go bump in the night.
Though the characters have been developed throughout the previous five books, many of their motivations become clear by the end of this installment. Why is Rachel so good at ley line magic? Why are demons so grumpy? What caused them to curse the elves so many years ago?
Kim Harrison has managed to keep this series lively, imaginative, and endearing without going over the top with her romances or action scenes. Her descriptive nature allows even a newcomer to the series to catch up and understand what’s happening.
