Deadtown by Nancy Holzner; Giveaway

Favorite Lines: “In the middle of the room stood the director, screaming. He had a vampire hanging off his neck; the female zombie chewed on his ankle.” (p. 128)

They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders-but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…

Vicky’s demanding job keeping the city safe from all manner of monsters is one reason her relationship with workaholic lawyer (and werewolf) Alexander Kane is in constant limbo. Throw in a foolhardy zombie apprentice, a mysterious, demon plagued client, and a suspicious research facility that’s taken an unwelcome interest in her family, and Vicky’s love life has as much of a pulse as Deadtown’s citizens.

But now Vicky’s got bigger things to worry about. The Hellion who murdered her father ten years ago has somehow broken through Boston’s magical protections. This ruthless force of destruction has a personal grudge against Vicky, and she’s the only one who can stop it before it destroys the city.

Nancy Holzner‘s Deadtown takes on the rights of all living and formerly living beings after a plague attacks, kills, and transforms all the humans in downtown Boston. At first humanity was ecstatic at the second chance it had with its loved ones, then it discover those who returned were different. They were zombies.

Humans moved quickly to distance themselves from the unknown and revoked their former loved ones rights. Despite the supernatural community’s role in cleaning up the dead zone, they soon found their rights tied to the zombies. Basic rights needed to be created by legislature and common sense disappeared. The ignorance pops up in chapter two and continues through out the story. It was clear that humans feared the unknown and that others wanted to dissect the unknown.

Vicky is the unknown. She is the only active shapeshifter in Massachusetts and just happens to be a trained demon slayer which comes in handy when a demon begins tormenting the city. She accepted herself at an early age, unlike her sister. Their relationship is strained, the one with her boyfriend seems iffy and that with a strange man/policeman is questionable.

I know Vicky is independent, but damn, her boyfriend placed her low on his list of priorities, as is showcased by the end of the story. Ms. Holzner did a great job making me wonder about the next installment of this series and the role Alexander Kane would play.

Overall, I was OK with Deadtown; I didn’t love it, but it was interesting. The variety of evil was clear as Lori at Escape Between the Pages said, ” there are different kinds of evil. From scientist with lab experiments, demons from hell, to politicians with their own agendas.” This all works together to create the urban fantasy, Deadtown.

Now I’ll be ghetto. Want the book I just finished? It’s been read once, by me. I dog-ear pages, so it’s not perfect. But if you want it, it’s yours. All you have to do is tell me your favorite urban fantasy book. I’ll randomly select a winner on Valentine’s Day.

Please, 1 entry per person.