Katie MacAlister, You Slay Me

You Slay Me

Katie MacAlister

Onyx, Sep 2004, $6.99, 352 pp.

ISBN: 0451411528

Working for her uncle at his Seattle-based firm Bell and Sons, Aisling Grey delivers a six hundred year old golden, aquamanile dragon statue to customer Aurora Deauxville in Paris. However, instead of making the exchange, nothing goes right as Aisling finds Aurora dead with a demon circle nearby. Drake Vireo, the Wyvern head of his Sept, arrives and steals the package before leaving. The police arrive just after Drake leaves and suspect Aisling killed Aurora.

Aisling decides to prove her innocence and regain the stolen artifact. She knows all roads lead to Drake and soon begins a journey to the underground otherworld of Paris. However, the path is similar to that of Alice down the rabbit hole as Aisling learns she is a guardian and Drake insists she is his mate. As a guardian she calls for a demon, getting Jim the dog and though she heats up with Drake's kisses in dreams or his bed, Aisling insists they are not mates for eternity as she thinks he is the killer who stole the artifact and ended her courier job.

This is an amusing romantic fantasy amateur sleuth tale in which somehow Katie MacAlister never loses sight of her key player Aisling. The storyline is action-packed as Aisling goes from one out-of-control scenario to another. Drake is her delightful counterpart while Jim provides comic relief sort of like the canine in Men in Black II as the heroine wonders how she let this dog out of hell. Fans will appreciate this warm humorous tale that slays readers with laughter.

Harriet Klausner