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KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is the best supernatural book I've read in a year and a half. Nobody really listens to Kitty's late-night retro-rock show, so she starts killing time by talking about Bat Boy tabloid articles. Among the crank calls and paranormal wannabes answering her, she gets a serious request for help from an involuntary vampire. Since Kitty is an involuntary werewolf, she knows exactly what to say. The ratings go through the roof and suddenly Kitty has a syndication contract, a loyal fan following, the angry attention of the alphas in her pack, the angrier attention of the local vampires, a cop who wavers between wanting her help and wanting to arrest her, a Deep Throat-style informant, and a hit man who plans on murdering her on air. Carrie Vaughn is a well-read, intelligent author. It comes out in Kitty's character, as she quotes Milton, Tolstoy, Churchill, and Dunsany. It comes out in the narrative voice (mostly Kitty's, as the novel is told first person.) And it comes out in the plot, which is believable, exciting, fast-paced, and incredibly complex. How do I love this book? Let me count the ways. First, despite the hot model on the cover, Kitty isn't a bodacious babe with amazing powers. I really appreciate that she's resoundingly average -- a bad fighter even -- and that all she has to battle external threats and internal insecurities is her own mind. Second, I can really relate to those insecurities, from the lies to her mother to cover up her lycanthropy to her competing urges to suck up to and resist the alpha wolves. Third, I like how Vaughn throws challenges at her heroine. Kitty doesn't have one or two problems to solve by the last page. Like life, complications come thick and fast. The master vampire wants her show shut down, the alpha werewolf is using her as a pawn, she's being harassed by the werewolf who turned her, she gets stalked (and outed) on air, there's a supernatural underground using her for information gathering, a possible cultist recruiting (or maybe enslaving) supernaturals, plus the cop and the assassin, not to mention fans who run from helpful to utterly scary. Much of this may be due to Vaughn setting up the series, but I hope she continues to make this level of detail part of every book. Fourth, I particularly appreciate that not all of these plotlines are tidily resolved, or even resolved at all. Like life, some victories are pyrrhic, some battles are lost, and some problems are set aside for another day. Kitty doesn't triumph over everything just because she's the heroine. That air of uncertainty will keep the series fresh, and prevent Kitty from developing into an annoyingly powerful and perfect character. KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is for anyone who likes a good supernatural story (and science fiction fans will find a couple of subtle jokes aimed right at them.) Even more, it's for everyone who likes to read about a woman coming into her own, with only her intellect and determination to keep her going against all odds.
Reviewed by Linnea Dodson, December 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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