Death Blows

Death Blows by DD Barant

The Bloodhound Files #2

Imagine a world where only one percent of the population is human, and the rest are vampires, lycanthropes, and golems. Now imagine hunting down killers in this world. These are The Bloodhound Files…

DEATH BLOWS

FBI profiler Jace Valchek was pulled into this parallel realm to hunt for Aristotle Stoker, a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. Now she works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America—and her boss is a vampire.

At a bizarre crime scene, Jace finds a bloodsucker murdered by magic, fried to the bone and dressed in the costume of the comic book hero the Flash—a character who isn’t supposed to exist here. Comic books have been outlawed for their powers, including crossover spells like the one that transported Jace to this world. Soon, she’s following a trail of dead bodies into the sinister underworld of black-market comics—where a deranged madman gives new meaning to the term “super-villain”…

Jace's focus gets shifted in this book. While she is still determined to find Stoker since he is her ticket home, things get a little hairy when she gets assigned to a bizarre crime scene. The victim is staged like the comic book character, The Flash. There's one big problem however, comic books have been illegal for over 50 years in this reality, so no one but Jace knows who the Flash is. She quickly realizes the killer must have some sort of tie to her own world and it becomes a race to find him before his victim count gets any higher. 

I'm really starting to wonder why Jace still wants to go home so bad. She kept mentioning how she really didn't have anyone back home that would miss her all that much, if at all. Here, however she has several close friends and even a potential relationship brewing with the ancient vampire Cassius. Yes he is her boss, but she warned him from the start to not expect her to follow any rules. She would do things her way and he could take it or leave it. I'm pretty interested to see how things continue to brew and whether they decide to make a go of it or not. I think they would be good together, but there is one major roadblock between them, trust. It will take a lot for them to overcome that obstacle, but it is possible.

I found all of the different references to comic books and characters to be a little confusing. Perhaps it is because I really do not know anything about them. It just was a little hard to keep track of who was who, what they were doing, and why they were doing it. By the time it got to the end I had forgotten the names of several characters, so the revealing of the "villain" in the end. I think if there had been a little less new characters/roles involved it would have been a easier to follow. Don't get me wrong, the overall plot and flow was really good, I just had to keep reminding myself of who they were talking about.

This book was really good, and I still love the world the author created for this series. It is very unique and interesting, and only adds to the great characters. I hope Jace decides to throw away her plans of going home and really sets down roots in her new reality. With her skills and her friends, she could really go far, it's just a matter of her accepting it. This one was as good as the first, and I look forward to reading more about Jace and her struggles.

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Dying Bites

Dying Bites by DD Barant

Bloodhound Files #1

Her job description is the “tracking and apprehension of mentally-fractured killers.” What this really means in FBI profiler Jace Valchek’s brave new world—one in which only one percent of the population is human—is that a woman’s work is never done. And real is getting stranger every day…

Jace has been ripped from her reality by David Cassius, the vampire head of the NSA. He knows that she’s the best there in the business, and David needs her help in solving a series of gruesome murders of vampires and werewolves. David’s world—one that also includes lycanthropes and golems—is one with little knowledge of mental illness. An insane serial killer is a threat the NSA has no experience with. But Jace does. Stranded in a reality where Bela Lugosi is a bigger box office draw than Bruce Willis and every full moon is Mardi Gras, Jace must now hunt down a fellow human before he brings the entire planet to the brink of madness. Or she may never see her own world again…

Jace has never really fit in with her peers due to her job and the mindset she must be in to catch the really nasty criminals. However, she never thought her particular skill set would make her attractive to another reality, much less an almost completely supernatural one. She is ripped from the world as we know it into a world where less than one percent of the population is human. She is tasked with finding a psychotic killer who is human, but is preying on the supernatural community with a vengeance. She must find and stop him for his capture is her ticket home, there are no ruby slippers for this Agent.

The world building in this book is amazing. The whole idea of our world having a parallel version of it, but with supernatural aspects is really intriguing. Even more so is the fact that this other version knows about ours and has the means to transport people across the boundary. I think the characters are well thought out, and Jace's struggles yet almost easy acceptance works well with her personality. Very few people could have just accepted her circumstances and been able to almost instantly cope. I feel the author did an amazing job at crafting a realistic character for this part.

I'm typically not a fan of books that have absolutely no real romance in them, nor do I really like a book that is almost 100% romance either, I prefer a happy mix. However, this one is definitely an exception to the rule. Yes, Jace does "hook" up with someone for a one night stand, but that's really the furthest it treads into the romance category. The story was so complex and kept me completely engrossed that I didn't miss its complete lack of romance at all. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a non-romantic book as much as this one.

This book was really intriguing and kept me hooked the entire time. While it wasn't incredibly fast paced, it had no trouble holding my attention. The characters are all well thought out, and really fit the world and plot. I look forward to reading more about Jace and her struggles, as well as accomplishments in this new world. I highly recommend for any Urban Fantasy fans as well as anyone who enjoys reading about anything paranormal.

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