Brimstone Kiss (Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator) by Carole Nelson Douglas

The emotion I felt at the end of Brimstone Kiss? Anger. Lots of anger. Seriously, don't put that kind of cliffhanger on a book when another book isn't due out for a year. It's not nice. It doesn't show respect for the reader. Tie up the major loose ends from a book while leaving enough loose ends to make us want the next book right now. But don't give that kind of cliffhanger.

Here is the blurb for the book:

Paranormal Investigator Delilah Street--in her quest to identify the long-buried embracing skeletons she and sexy ex-FBI agent Ricardo Montoya discovered-- has to deal with a lecherous vampire, a ghoulish producer, celebrity zombies from classic films, a mysterious albino rock star who bestows addictive kisses on his groupies, and a dead girl in her mirror--and those are just her clients! Post-Millennium Revelation Las Vegas is teeming with supernaturals and run by a werewolf mob, but even the unhumans can't conceive of what Delilah discovers hidden under its damnable desert sands: unspeakably powerful evil rooted in ancient Egypt...

Brimstone Kiss continues the story from the first book. The pacing is better in Brimstone Kiss than it was in Dancing with Werewolves, and I was mostly enjoying the story. Right up until the end. Have I mentioned the cliff hanger?

I still like Delilah, I still wonder what Snow is and whether he likes Delilah or is using her (he seems to be a good guy where she is concerned, but he could just as easily be a bad guy), I'm still fascinated by the concept of the CinSims. But with the pacing problems from the first book, with the cliffhanger of the second book... there are a lot of problems even though the concept of the books is a good one.

Will I read Vampire Sunrise? I don't know. It's not due out until the end of November, over five months away. By then, I may not care what Ric is when he wakes up. (Select the spoiler text to view it.) And I may not care what Snow is, or whether he's a good guy or a bad guy. I've put it on my Anxiously Awaiting page so I can make that decision when the time draws near, but as of now I'm just not sure. I will probably read some reviews before I make the decision, to make sure we aren't handed another cliffhanger.

I gave Dancing with Werewolves a 5 of 10. If Brimstone Kiss hadn't given us the cliffhanger it could have been a 7 of 10. But with the cliffhanger, it also gets a 5 of 10. The series is going to be a 5 of 10 for me as well.

Book Rating: 5 of 10
Series Rating: 5 of 10




1. Dancing with Werewolves
2. Brimstone Kiss
3. Vampire Sunrise (Nov 24, '09)