Vicious Grace
M.L.N. Hanover
Pocket, Nov 30 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9781439176290

Jayne Heller feels good about her life as finally it seems to be coming together. Still she muses about her "inheritance" as she would prefer to pass on fighting demons that thrive on humans and other paranormal adversaries like the cretins that killed her Uncle Eric and thrust her into his insane world last year. However, the reasons she feels optimistic are that she has friends and a lover; both of which she rarely could claim in the past. Even her belief in her self -worth has never been higher than now due ironically to kicking supernatural butt.

At the same time there is no respite in her new world. While recording dreams of patients at Chicago's Grace Memorial Hospital, the researchers notice the strange nightmare shared by several subjects. Jayne and her comrades investigate but soon realize something apparently evil is awakening from underneath the hospital. However, Jayne biggest threat may be from those she calls friends and lover, and even perhaps her deceased Uncle Eric.

The Third Black Sun's Daughter urban fantasy (see Darker Angels) is an engaging entry as the paranormal Chicago setting feels real and fans will recall how far Jayne has come from her first encounter with Unclean Spirits. However that insightful opening leads to the story line starting slow and not accelerating until about half way into the thriller. Still readers will enjoy the latest escapades of it happened to Jayne.

Harriet Klausner