I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Angel Town
by
Lilith Saintcrow
urban fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Orbit on October 25, 2011 and has 207 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Hunter’s Prayer, Redemption Alley, Flesh Circus, Working for the Devil, Heaven's Spite, The Demon's Librarian, Dead Man Rising, Steelflower, The Devil’s Right Hand, Saint City Sinners, To Hell and Back, Death's Excellent Vacation, Chicks Kick Butt, Dark and Stormy Knights, Storm Watcher, Fire Watcher, Cloud Watcher, Mindhealer, The Iron Wyrm Affair, The Red Plague Affair, Dark Watcher, To Hell and Back, Trailer Park Fae, Roadside Magic
Sixth and last in the Jill Kismet urban fantasy series revolving around a hunter who works with the police in Santa Luz, New Mexico.
My Take
Damn, Saintcrow really kept me wondering up to the very end. I was very happy that Jill had actually managed to survive, er, come back from events in Heaven’s Spite, although Perry certainly was scary to see! That demon was just manic!
I rather wish we had gotten more details about the war that had erupted in the months Jill was dead. I totally hadn’t expected that happening. I certainly hadn’t expected the allies who appeared either.
On the whole, I was a tiny bit disappointed as I didn’t have the same depth of feeling for the characters this time. To be fair, it could be me holding myself back simply because I knew this was the last in the series and I’m going to miss Jill and Saul; I think it’s their warehouse home…
Saintcrow does make a good point toward the end: that one of the big differences between good and evil is that good is willing to come together for the common good whereas evil only works together if it benefits the individual.
The Story
If Jill died in Heaven’s Spite, then how is it she’ rising back up out of a maggoty shallow grave? Admittedly, she doesn’t even know who she is or how she got there. Or why she had been buried. And it takes a while before the whole of her past comes back to her.
As the bits and pieces do dribble in, Jill finds her way to Sanctuary fighting and rescuing along the way, each blow seeming to knock another memory loose. Perry. The caretaker. Her were friends. Saul. Everyone, who’s still alive, who has a part in her life is carefully happy to see her again. Even if all Hell is literally breaking loose.
The Characters
Judith was reborn when Mikhail pulled her out of a snowdrift one winter and gave her the choice of becoming his apprentice or anything else she wanted. Grateful, Judith became Jill Kismet, a hunter of scurf, hellbreed, and Traders. Assisting the police of Santa Luz in keeping the peace. Killing the other. Mikhail has been dead for awhile now; she’s only recently learned that he tricked her into taking Perry’s mark. Assuring her that it would help her in identifying, fighting, and recovering from fighting. But there’s still Saul in her life. A cat shifter and Jill’s lover. With Jill dead, Saul is dying of matesickness. Gilberto is Jill’s apprentice but training with Anya Devi, another hunter helping out with Jill dead.
Theron is a panther shifter and friend. Galina is Sanctuary. No one wants to violate a Sanctuary — too well-protected for one — as it acts as both neutral ground and a shop where both sides can purchase supplies. Hutch is a computer hacker protected by the government as long as he aids Jill. Montaigne is Jill’s police liaison while Badger and Sully are detectives who work frequently with Jill. Fathers Blake, Rosas, and Guillermo of Sacred Grace had a more intricate relationship with her. Too bad they weren’t more trusting…
Vanner is a policeman driven mad and he may be possessed Melendez is a voodoo practitioner. Not necessarily a bad guy. All the time. He does allow Chango to ride him, a god to whom Jill owes a favor.
Perry, a.k.a., Hyperion, is a demon and runs the Monde, a demon bar which Jill must visit on a regular basis. It was a part of her deal with Perry that in exchange for the mark, she cater to his, um, personal whims. Now Perry reveals how extremely interested he is in Jill and fully demonstrates to what lengths he’ll go to have her Hellbreed, a.k.a., ‘breed, are demons while Traders are humans who have traded their souls and gained the ability to modify their bodies. The caretaker out at Henderson Hills, the abandoned insane asylum, turns out to be more than anyone expected.
The Cover and Title
The cover is black and white with purples and blues featuring Jill’s face in a three-quarter profile, part of a sword and its hilt that aligns at an angle with her cheekbone. Where the blade meets the hilt, a pair of wings has been engraved; an outline of a purples-blue five-pointed star is near her eye.
The title is too true as Santa Luz does turn into Angel Town.
