Kitty Takes a Holiday
by Carrie Vaughn
Published by Warner Books
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Reviewed by Vanessa Lee
The third installment of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series finds Kitty on hiatus from her popular radio show so she can write a book. She's retreated to a remote cabin in the woods, hoping to find inspiration and write something along the lines of Thoreau's Walden. Instead, she finds writer's block, a compulsive urge to listen to her rival's radio show, hostility from the locals, and the signs of someone trying to curse her.
Things get more complicated when her werewolf hunter friend, Cormac, shows up carrying her injured lawyer, Ben, and telling a tale of an attack while they were fighting werewolves in New Mexico. When they were teenagers, Cormac and Ben each vowed to kill the other if he was bitten by a were-creature. Now that it's happened, Cormac can't bring himself to follow through and he's come to Kitty for help. She has four days to convince Ben that life as a werewolf isn't all bad.
Ben's new status changes things and Kitty soon finds herself as the default Alpha of their little pack. She not only must help Ben deal with the changes he's experiencing and figure out their changed dynamic, but she must also protect her little group. The strange creature that was present when Ben was attacked has been spotted and someone is leaving skinned carcasses and iron crosses around Kitty's cabin.
In Kitty Takes a Holiday, Kitty really blossoms. She's a stronger character than in the previous two novels. Ben's change forces her to deal with her own issues and she emerges a less wishy-washy, more likeable character.
There's a lot going on in this book: Ben's change, the hostile locals, the curse, and the strange creature. Add to that Kitty's concerns about Ben and Cormac, her rival's radio show, as well as her thoughts on what to do about her own show--but Vaughn ties it together well. Even early on there is a sense that everything is connected and that holds true to the end.
Fans of the series will not be disappointed and new readers will be drawn in to the exciting world of the werewolf named Kitty.
Armchair Interviews says: This is a fun, exciting novel with just a hint of romance to keep things interesting.
Author's Web site: http://www.CarrieVaugh.com