Halfway to the Grave
by
Jeaniene Frost
It is part of the Night Huntress #1 series and is a urban fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Avon Publications on October 30, 2007 and has 358 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include First Drop of Crimson, Death's Excellent Vacation, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave's End, Destined for an Early Grave, Unbound, This Side of the Grave, One Grave at a Time, The Bite Before Christmas, Once Burned, Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Twice Tempted, The Beautiful Ashes, Bound by Flames, Into the Fire, The Other Half of the Grave, Halfway to the Grave
First in the Night Huntress urban fantasy series, the title is too, too appropriate considering Cat’s origins.
In 2007, Halfway to the Grave won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Urban Fantasy.
My Take
How Frost came up with the major issue in this story with Hennessey and Oliver…eee-yewww. Frost has set up a nice set of issues for Cat to work through with a thoroughly considerate vampire to “help” her out. I do like his jealousy and how protective he is of her.
It’s mostly action and Cat’s issues along with a nice helping of lovin’ from Bones as they track Hennesey’s whereabouts and uncover a major plot against the unknowns of the world. We get introduced to Frost’s version of vampire culture; she has an interesting take on its start with the mark of Cain. We also meet Spade, the former Baron Charles DeMortimer, and I’m sure curious as to how an English baron didn’t have enough juice to keep from being transported.
Mom’s an odd duck. She doesn’t seem to love Cat much unless she’s killing vamps, which leads to one of Cat’s big conflicts: not letting her mother know she’s dating a vampire — even if he is one of the good guys.
I do like Frost’s dialog for Bones as well as the persona she’s created for him. Such a lovely bad-boy combination of, well, bad boy and consideration. One of the crackups for me is Cat’s final approach when she’s getting ready to take out a vampire: “C’mon, dinner’s getting cold” or “Bar’s open”. It’s such a refreshing angle on how vampires view humans.
The Story
Just another night cruisin’ the bars lookin’ for some action…vampire killing action. Cat’s justifying her existence by killing any vampire she can sense…and there’s one now at that table.
What follows has Cat in a tumult. He’s not reacting the way she expects. He keeps calling her Kitten. Kitten!?! And it just keeps getting better…for the reader that is! Cat’s got a new toy and, eventually, she discovers it’s kinda nice having backup even as she learns some home truths.
The Characters
Catherine “Cat” is a half-human/half vampire result of a rape and she’s been out killing vamps since she was 16, mostly to try to keep her mother’s love.
Bones is a vampire bounty hunter. Spade, the former Baron Charles DeMortimer, is one of Bones’ best friends who was made at the same time as Bones on the convict crew in Australia back in the 18th century.
The Cover
I like it! I like it! It’s so perfectly Cat with her barely-there dress, the over-the-knee FM-boots, and the gleaming knife as she poses so aggressively in the moonlit graveyard.
