A review by veronica87
Hellhound by Nancy Holzner
4.0
The Deadtown series has always been a solidly entertaining series for me and one that I consider to be vastly underrated. It has an interesting mix of the more usual supernatural stuff like vampires, werewolves, and zombies, but tosses it up with a healthy dose of welsh mythology. It also has a thoroughly likeable heroine in Victory (Vicky) Vaughn. If you like and enjoy the Walker Papers series by C.E. Murphy then I think you’d enjoy this series as well. Much like Joanne Walker, Vicky is not the type of heroine who thinks she’s all that and a bag of chips. Vicky doesn’t especially want to be saddled with the responsibility of saving the world but her being a Cerdorrian shapeshifter means that she is uniquely situated to help when ancient, Welsh demons start possessing the local zombie population. In a genre that is heavily populated by heroines who feel an overwhelming need to be hostile with everyone they meet just to prove how tough and independent they are, Vicky just quietly does what needs to be done. Of course, that’s easier said than done now that the demon mark she carries causes her anger to flare over the most innocuous of things. But even with her new anger management issues, Vicky is still far more civil to others than many of her genre counterparts.
And when you have such a down-to-earth, likeable heroine, she deserves a well matched love interest. This book continues to solidify the relationship between Vicky and her handsome attorney boyfriend – who also happens to be a werewolf – Alexander Kane. I have always appreciated that this series didn’t sink to the love triangle level and instead allowed Vicky and Kane to figure out their relationship on their own. Their issues stem from who they are as individuals rather than being from manufactured drama from third parties. Vicky and Kane are adults and conduct themselves as such. There is no game playing and no tit for tat when one inadvertently hurts the other. Vicky and Kane were headed for some dark times at the end of the last book and this book certainly tests who they are as individuals as well as who they are together.
Another thing that I’ve appreciated from this series is how it handles the tensions between “norms” (non-supernatural humans) and the various paranormal races, who are all required to live in a walled off section of Boston known as Designated Area 1, aka Deadtown. Deadtown residents are allowed to leave the area if they work in the regular parts of Boston and if they have the proper papers and identifications to do so. The fact that the local zombie population is being possessed and driven to commit horrendous acts causes quite a negative spike in interspecies relations. I would have liked it if even more had been done with this aspect of the story but I can at least appreciate that an effort at demonstrating prejudicial behaviors and attitudes was made.
I will admit that the ending seemed a bit rushed and there were some relationship issues I thought could have used some more page space but overall I enjoyed the story. The pacing was mostly good and while I don’t love all the characters equally, they all bring something important to the story and to Vicky’s life. The author has stated that series will close out at six books so I look forward to reading about Vicky’s final adventure next year. There was no cliffhangar ending with this book but some plot threads were definitely left open.
And when you have such a down-to-earth, likeable heroine, she deserves a well matched love interest. This book continues to solidify the relationship between Vicky and her handsome attorney boyfriend – who also happens to be a werewolf – Alexander Kane. I have always appreciated that this series didn’t sink to the love triangle level and instead allowed Vicky and Kane to figure out their relationship on their own. Their issues stem from who they are as individuals rather than being from manufactured drama from third parties. Vicky and Kane are adults and conduct themselves as such. There is no game playing and no tit for tat when one inadvertently hurts the other. Vicky and Kane were headed for some dark times at the end of the last book and this book certainly tests who they are as individuals as well as who they are together.
Another thing that I’ve appreciated from this series is how it handles the tensions between “norms” (non-supernatural humans) and the various paranormal races, who are all required to live in a walled off section of Boston known as Designated Area 1, aka Deadtown. Deadtown residents are allowed to leave the area if they work in the regular parts of Boston and if they have the proper papers and identifications to do so. The fact that the local zombie population is being possessed and driven to commit horrendous acts causes quite a negative spike in interspecies relations. I would have liked it if even more had been done with this aspect of the story but I can at least appreciate that an effort at demonstrating prejudicial behaviors and attitudes was made.
I will admit that the ending seemed a bit rushed and there were some relationship issues I thought could have used some more page space but overall I enjoyed the story. The pacing was mostly good and while I don’t love all the characters equally, they all bring something important to the story and to Vicky’s life. The author has stated that series will close out at six books so I look forward to reading about Vicky’s final adventure next year. There was no cliffhangar ending with this book but some plot threads were definitely left open.