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
Kitty Goes to Washington
by
Carrie Vaughn
It is part of the Kitty Norville 2 series and is a urban fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Grand Central Publishing on July 1, 2006 and has 342 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Dark and Stormy Knights, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, "Kitty Meets the Band", Hex Appeal, Kitty and the Silver Bullet, Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand, Kitty Raises Hell, Kitty's House of Horrors, Kitty Goes to War, Kitty's Big Trouble, Kitty's Greatest Hits, Kitty Steals the Show, Kitty Rocks the House, Kitty in the Underworld
Second in the Kitty Norville urban fantasy series about a werewolf radio show host in Denver.
My Take
I enjoyed this! And I sometimes hate that I won’t allow myself to read the next installment in a series until I’ve done the just-finished story’s review first!
The series, Kitty Norville, is total fluff and lots of fun while Kitty herself has a nice sense of honor even as she’s trying to find herself in the new role life has thrust upon her. Vaughn presents a nice balance of Kitty becoming stronger in herself while remaining considerate of others. She makes a nice argument about treating shifters and vampires as people.
Oh, crack me up! I just love the caller to Kitty’s radio show who “knows” she’s an expert on Dracula because she’s seen every Bram Stoker-inspired movie. I love Kitty’s statement about the book — that it’s the techno-thriller of its time. True enough. Makes me wonder what “techno-thriller” of our day will be the Dracula classic in a hundred years. Vaughn also provides an interesting interpretation of Daniel in the lion’s den…hmmmm…
What is the deal with Alette? Kitty is an adult and Alette is not her mother! Oh, snicker! I just love Duke’s reaction to discovering his pet assassin has a pre-existing relationship..! With Duke’s nemesis. I dunno, the denouement with Smith was too easy.
Ya know, in spite of Alette’s hijacking and her attitude, I much prefer her to Ahmed. She’s got a lot more humanity in her. Between her help with the camp’s breakup and her comment that “immortality ought to make one more sensitive to the plight of the downtrodden, and more apt to work toward the betterment of humanity. Not less.” Because it’s true, vampires do “have the luxury of taking the long view”.
So, did’ja hear the joke about the bigot, the opportunists, and the scientist…? Yeah, it wasn’t much of a joke although Kitty did a great job of turning it around at least a little bit. What is it with bigots and extremists? That they believe they can get away with anything if it forwards their agenda?? I am rather surprised that the bad guys let Kitty get away with her announcements. Wouldn’t it just figure the FCC would grab the wrong end of the stick?
What Kitty and Cormac discover — and experience — is just nasty…and that’s a major understatement! I’m just dying to find out what happens in Kitty Takes a Holiday!
The Story
Kitty’s been on the road with her show for a month now when Ben contacts her to let her know about the subpoena from Washington. Seems Kitty has been established as the go-to girl on supernaturals, and Dr. Flemming’s press conference has blown the lid off things.
Kitty has barely arrived before she’s hijacked by the Mistress of the City’s MIB and “invited” to stay at her home. Seems some of the vampires have different concerns from the Mistress. Meanwhile Kitty also explores the shifter’s side.
It’s Kitty’s reporter instincts that unravel the evils percolating away in our capital city.
The Characters
Kitty Norville was slaving away at a local radio station until she “accidentally” outed herself and ended up going on the road with her supernatural talk show. Hmmm, this is much too simplistic a statement, but I’d hate to ruin your reading fun..! Her mom and dad are totally cool with her new condition. Cormac is a vampire and werewolf hunter and yet, a friend of Kitty’s.
KNOB is…
…the radio station in Denver. Matt from KNOB still handles the engineering albeit at a distance while Ozzie, KNOB’s manager, takes care of the legal end. Ben O’Farrell is her lawyer and quite comfortable with her other half.
Dr. Paul Flemming heads up the Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology which is the focus of the Senate hearing. He’s behaving very secretively — shredding papers, avoiding Kitty’s calls, etc. Jeffrey Miles is a professional psychic and channeler with an unexpected surprise for Kitty. Reverend Elijah Smith is a faith healer (we first met his idea of healing in his Church of the Pure Faith in Kitty and the Midnight Hour); he’s got an interesting background and a terrifying future plan.
Alette is the Mistress of Washington D.C. A vampire with the police in her pocket. Her MIB, Tom and Bradley, are both considerate and implacable. Leo is Alette’s second-in-command and quite the snot. Emma is Alette’s unfortunate descendant.
Luis is a jaguar shifter who works at the Brazilian embassy. Ahmed is a shifter who owns a Moroccan restaurant that seems to operate as a general headquarters for all shifters even though Ahmed is totally without concern for his fellow shifters. Don’t even get me started on his thoughts about the vamps. Fritz is an old, very private werewolf with a very chequered past.
Senator Duke is the head of the committee investigating the supernatural and Dr. Flemming’s center. He’s also a major bigot and asshole with his own very nasty agenda. His fellow senators on the committee are Henderson and Dreschler.
Roger Stockton is a reporter with Uncharted World, a rather sleazy tabloid. Think of every bad thing you’ve heard about a reporter’s persistence and lack of regard for his targets…
The Cover and Title
The cover is range of oranges from the deep, deep red-orange of the sky with its full moon to the orange-and-black palette that makes up the Brazilian jaguar’s pelt. Kitty herself is cocking a pose with her back to us in her short black dress with the wide banded straps trimmed in a pale orange that matches the wide trim that emphasizes the bust of the dress. Kitty is in front of a microphone but looking down at Luis with a satisfied look on her face.
The title is scarily accurate for indeed Kitty Goes to Washington, but not for anything fun!
