THREE DAYS TO DEAD

Author: Kelly Meding ISBN: 9780553592863 12/2009 PARANORMAL Publisher: DELL

They’ll never see her coming. . . . When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue—in a stranger’s body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there—her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city’s star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city’s other Hunters that Evy was a traitor—and she can’t even remember what it was. Now she’s a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice—and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again—but this time there’s no second chance. . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

What an interesting story THREE DAYS TO DEAD is. It combines so many different elements and character types (humans, witchcraft, goblins, vampires, fey, and elves to name a few) that my head is still spinning from trying to figure out just who is who and what they can do! With the bonus of a dead heroine conjured into someone else for three days, THREE DAYS TO DEAD pretty much covers all of the paranormal bases.

While I give Meding top honors for creativity, some of the storyline is confusing, and the hero is not one of my favorites. Actually, the romance is not one of my favorites because it barely exists. To be fair, the heroine has a lot going on, with a riddle to solve in three days and several species wanting her dead, but, I still need my chemistry in an action read so I need to mention it.

Action-packed, graphic and brutal, wild and dark, THREE DAYS TO DEAD is a book that grabbed me through its confusing but completely exhilarating ride and leaves me anxious for its follow-up.

Shannon Johnson