Laurell K. Hamilton, A Stroke of Midnight - The attempted assassination of Princess Meredith of the faerie Unseelie Court failed and the coup to unseat Andais, the Queen of Air and Darkness, was thwarted. The princess gives a a press conference in the sithen (faerie mound) because a human policeman under the spell of a sidhe (faerie) had attempted to kill her and that has to be explained. After the conference is over, Merry and her harem of sexy and beautiful guards found a dead photographer and a sidhe, both the victims of murder by one of more of the sidhe.

Merry convinces her Aunt to let the police into the sithen because the reporters know one of their own is missing. Anais agrees but intends to conduct her own investigation. Merry and her guards are the focus of another assassination attempt and while they struggle to stay alive, Merry's presence in the sithen brings it to life, recreating features that have withered away centuries ago. Merry also gives back the powers the sidhe lost when they were allowed entry to this country by President Jefferson. This makes the queen jealous because Merry can do what she can no longer perform and when a predator is angered, anything can happen.

The latest entry in the Princess Meredith series is a fantastic and enthralling adult fairy tale complete with a beautiful princess, a host of archetype princes who act as Merry's guards and the wicked witch (in this case the evil faerie queen). There is a lot of exotic sex and action in A STROKE OF MIDNIGHT and very visual descriptions of the reawakening of the sithen. Laurell K. Hamilton scores another great book heading for the New York Times bestseller list.

Ballantine, April 2005, $23.95, 367 pp.
ISBN 0345443578

Harriet Klausner