Kitty Norville is an Urban Fantasy

Okay, I'll admit it, as a writer I still contemplate kicking myself every time I pick up a new book in Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series. I mean come on, a werewolf named Kitty? How "cute" is that? But I also have to say it was an idea just lying around waiting for someone to latch on to it. Carrie Vaughn did and did so brilliantly.

From the first book Kitty and the Midnight Hour, a story about a werewolf DJ and the super naturals that listen to her broadcasts, to Kitty Raises Hell, the latest book in the series I have enjoyed each book.

In Kitty and the Midnight Hour she is being stalked by a hired killer. While this is the main plot I found the subplot of how she became a werewolf and her subsequent attempts to adapt to the new life of interest. She is apparently a girly-girl who one would never consider a candidate for being a werewolf. She isn't happy about the change, pun fully intended, but is learning to adapt and getting on with her life; if the local vampire family will let her that is.

I especially enjoy the fact that Carrie Vaughn has made an effort to learn more about real wolves and how they live their lives. This has led to her exploring what really makes a wolf a leader in the pack; and it isn't all about might. Packs and herds follow leaders that are best able to keep the herd or pack strong and healthy. She begins to seriously explore this concept in Kitty and the Silver Bullet.

With her next books, Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand and Kitty Raises Hell, she expands the supernatural world her heroine lives in peopling it with various surreal types that expand the possibilities for the series. She deftly weaves plot and subplots to create a multi-layered world with depth and breadth. It promises to be an alternate world that can support as many different stories as Carrie cares to write.

She also has a healthy list of short stories for any fan who wants more of her works.

Carrie Vaughn is a young writer who has hit her stride. Her current books are becoming mainstays in Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Romance. Her heroines are flawed, but women you root for and want to come through their adventures into a better place.

Yes, a werewolf named Kitty is a cutesy idea, but Carrie Vaughn's talent makes it work and work well.

My sources are the books of Carrie Vaughn, Amazon.com and wikipedia.com.