Review and Giveaway: Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn

Title: Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (Kitty Norville, Book 5)
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Pages: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (February 1, 2009)
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Vampire / Werewolf
Edition: Paperback - many thanks to the publisher (Hachette Book Group) for sending me a copy to review





Perfect for : Personal reading, anyone who likes vampire or werewolf stories

In a nutshell: Book 5 of the Kitty Norville series finds Kitty and Ben the alphas of the Denver pack, and working together with Rick, who is now the Vampire Master of the city. It also finds the pair taking their relationship to the next level - marriage - in Vegas!! What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - right? Well, Kitty agrees to do the first real KNOB televised show from Vegas prior to her marriage. When she and Ben arrive at their hotel, they find that there is a gun show convention complete with silver bullet-toting hunters of the supernatural! Add to that a strange lycanthrope (were-animal) show where the performers try to dazzle Kitty for unknown reasons of their own. Supernatural trouble tends to gravitate toward Kitty, and Vegas is no exception - both Kitty and Ben run into trouble, and make new friends along the way. Another GREAT book in the series!

Extended Review:
Characters: The main characters remain the same: Kitty, Ben, Cormac and Rick. This book also sees the introduction of Dom, the vampire Master of Vegas, Balthasar, the lead of the lycanthrope pack, and Odysseus Grant, a talented magician with supernatural ties of his own.

Story-Line: The story continues, shedding some light on Vegas as only a pair of were-wolves can. Kitty and Ben are there to get hitched, and everything seems to be working against them! They do manage to tie-the-knot, but not without the help of some new friends.

Readability: A fun and easy read.

Overall: Another great book by Carrie Vaughn, continuing the story of Kitty and Ben, which brings a new set of challenges, supernatural problems, and even a few new friends. I loved this book and highly recommend the series to anyone who is a fan of were-wolves, vampires and the supernatural. I also recommend this series to those who want to give this type of genre a try.

From Amazon:
HONEYMOON IN VEGAS?
Already the alpha pair of Denver's werewolf pack, Kitty and Ben now plan to tie the knot human-style by eloping to Vegas. Kitty is looking forward to sipping fru-fru drinks by the pool and doing her popular radio show on live TV, but her hotel is stocked with werewolf-hating bounty hunters. Elsewhere on the Strip an old-school magician might be wielding the real thing; the vampire community is harboring a dark secret; and the irresistible star of a suspicious animal act is determined to seduce Kitty. Sin City has never been so wild, and this werewolf has never had to fight harder to save not only her wedding, but her very life.

First Paragraph:
This was embarrassing. I never thought I'd become such a victim of tradition. Yet here I was, looking at the gowns in a bridal magazine.

About the Author: (from the publisher's site)
Carrie Vaughn had the nomadic childhood of the typical Air Force brat, with stops in California, Florida, North Dakota, Maryland, and Colorado. She holds a Masters in English Literature and collects hobbies-fencing and sewing are currently high on the list. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

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Giveaway Details: (for more detail, visit here)
Comment on this review and you will be entered to win a copy of the book - you CAN leave a comment on all six reviews (one posted each day through March 30th) to earn an entry for each of the books. Please make sure I have a way to contact you in the event that you win!! The GRAND PRIZE winner will be drawn from among the entries on all six reviews!! This giveaway is part of a Hachette Book Group (thank you Hachette!!), and to participate, you must be a resident of the United States or Canada, no PO Boxes.