Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, Book 4) by Faith Hunter

 

I've been looking forward to Raven Cursed since I finished Mercy Blade, and Faith Hunter did not disappoint.

There is a lot going on, and Jane is pulled in a zillion directions. It was a bit of a gamble, because it could easily have been too much, too frantic, too confusing. But it wasn't. Jane deals with the things thrown at her, mostly by choosing whatever her next step is going to be and then just blanking out everything else until she manages that task. 

I love that so much happens in and around the Asheville area. I've been to Hot Springs, to Paint Rock, to almost all of the places she talks about. I've driven the horrible scary road that Jane refused to do at night on a bike. Faith Hunter does a great job of bringing the landscape, the mountains, the forests, the rivers and streams... of bringing it all to life.

Here is the blurb:

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: skinwalker Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Is it a rogue-vampire, shapechanger, or witch? Or something else magical? Unless she wants to face a very angry master vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer.  It's a good thing she's worth every penny.

As for the writing elements:

• There are several plots, and they all get tied up by the end. Well, a few have some loose ends, but they are part of the ongoing plot arc and that's fine.
• Pacing was intriguing. There is a lot of action, but it's not frantic. And there is down time, though not a lot.
• Prose and dialogue were beautifully woven together.
• Character development continues to be an active part of the series. Jane is a work in progress, and there are a lot of secondary characters that we are also getting to know.
• World-building was consistent with previous books, and also added a lot of interesting bits about Jane's world. 

Raven cursed easily gets a 10 of 10 from me. The series will remain a 10 of 10.

• Book Rating: Raven Cursed: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

1. Skinwalker
2. Blood Cross
3. Mercy Blade (Jan 2011)
4. Raven Cursed (Jan 2012)
5. Death's Rival (Fall 2012)