The Good, The Bad, and the Undead

The Good, The Bad, and the Undead (2005) Kim Harrison

The second book finds Rachel Morgan still working with Ivy and Jenks, and struggling to make ends meet. She’s getting jobs, but they’re barely enough to cover the rent. Plus, she still has to figure out how to pay off the demon she owes for saving her life. All the while Rachel and Ivy are still trying to figure out how to make their living arrangements work.

Additional, someone is killing Cincinnati’s ley-line witches, and each death seems more horrible than the previous. Neither the FIB nor the IS has any good leads, so the FIB ends up bringing Rachel in as a consultant.
Strangely, although this book seemed strong than the first, I found it somehow less satisfying. I enjoyed the mystery more, but I think there were far more questions asked than answered in this book, leaving the story feeling unresolved, even though the main story arc–discovering who was killing Cincinnati’s ley-line witches–was completed.

Part of the problem for me might have been there was a lot less of Jenks, and a lot more boinking and near boinking. Not that it wasn’t well done–I’d just rather have more mystery. I’m not saying that those bits weren’t well done–they are. They’re just not my favorite parts of a story. Okay, and I’m also slightly irked by the fact that everyone in this book is good looking. Are there any unattractive people in post-Turn Cincinnati?

But I do like the struggle between Ivy and Rachel in keeping Ivy’s hungers at bay, as they experiment to discover what works and what doesn’t. I also like that Rachel worries about things like health insurance and struggling to pay her bills.

The characters are still interesting, and I hope that the mysteries will continue to get better, but I’m hoping that there were will more questions answered than asked in the next book. I prefer to keep reading a series because I like the characters and the writing, not because the author refuses to resolve plot points.
Rating: 7/10

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