Book Review: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

Pale Demon is the ninth book of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison, and honestly had me scared that it might be the last. The urban fantasy tale ramps up the energy and show that Harrison has not lost her edge. This installment of The Hollows has Rachel still shunned as a black witch and Trent coming for a favor. While Rachel is traveling to the West Coast for her brother's wedding, she is also facing a meeting with the Coven, who is supposed to remove her shunning. Trent wants her to travel with him and make sure they both make it to the coast alive, which is more challenging than it should be. The Coven does not seem to be holding to its bargain and Trent has elven assassins on his tail to prevent him from completing the mission that has him heading to the West Coast. Oh, and then there is the demon that enjoys eating people. Things only get more complicated from there, and Rachel might just have to spend the rest of her life in the Ever After.

As any series progresses the plots and characters can become predictable and stale. The Hollows series has yet to fall into that trap. Harrison has just given readers what I consider the best book in The Hollows Series. Pale Demon is fast paced and had strong character development and changes that might surprise even the most stalwart fans of the series. We get to see the family road trip from Hell, with four and sometimes more of our favorite characters stuck in the car together fore a road trip gone wrong. There are car chases, kidnapping, assassins, demons and witches spying to make simply being stuck with friends in a care for an extended period even more challenging. The confrontation with the Coven and demon battles and interactions bring about twists and turns that had me wondering at several points whether this might be the end of the series. I was glad to know that there are more stories about Rachel and all coming. Although I do have a feeling that it will not be long before this series winds up, as several loose ends are starting to come together.

I highly recommend Pale Demon to urban fantasy fans, but do suggest reading the entire series rather than jumping in this late in the game. Starting now would make some of the character development and interactions in Pale Demon seem less important than if you know the entire back-story. The series begins with Dead Witch Walking .