CHEAT THE GRAVE

Author: Vicki Pettersson ISBN: 9780061456770 6/2010 PARANORMAL Publisher: EOS

Las Vegas socialite and otherwordly avenger Joanna Archer gave up everything when she embraced mortality—abandoning her powers and altering her destiny to save a child . . . and a city. Now her former allies are her enemies—and her enemies have nothing to fear. Yet still she is bound to a prophecy that condemns her to roam a nightmare landscape that ordinary humans cannot see and dare not enter. And a beast is on her trail—an insane killer blinded by bloodlust, who's determined to rip much more from Joanna than merely her now-fragile life. Survival is no longer an option in this dark realm where good and evil have blurred into confusing shades of gray—unless she can gather together an army of onetime foes and destroy everything she once believed in.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Joanna Archer is going strong in the fifth offering of the Signs of the Zodiac series. CHEAT THE GRAVE has everything I can ask for in a paranormal read... and more! As it moves from the light to the dark, from the upper crust to the otherworldly, Pettersson's story remains true to its original bad*ss self.

CHEAT THE GRAVE grabbed me from page one and never let go. With surprises aplenty, heartache, hallucinations, knife-wielding crazies, and downright scary entities, this is a story I can't begin to break down! Fast-paced and absurdly fun, this series shows no sign of slowing down. This one isn't for the faint of heart, though, so if you can handle the strange spiral of this roller coaster—strap in!

Sure, some of the story is too wordy and confusing, and yes, it is most certainly over the top on many levels, but for Pettersson's heroine Joanna (and for me!), it works.

Shannon Johnson