Kitty's Big Trouble Review

Kitty’s Big Trouble

-       Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: UK – Gollancz

Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever.  Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural?  She's got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman.Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter. But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia.  That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play.  And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn. . .

This book could easily be called Kitty Goes To San Francisco as she spends most of the time in Chinatown trying to beat Roman to a powerful magical artefact. As usual I enjoyed my time with Kitty. Over the course of the series so far, she’s grown in strength – yet remains practical about what she and can’t do. She – and her inner wolf have no qualms about running away when the enemy is more powerful. She remains a regular werewolf – not an all powerful, world saviour. It is this element of Kitty that I love – especially having read so many Urban Fantasy series where our heroine is unique/the only one of her type. (Not that this is bad but it makes a nice change!)

This was the first time in many books where we had Ben and Cormac with Kitty at the same time – and it was the first time I understood Kitty’s choice of man. It seemed much more natural than before – and while I’m sure there will be many who would like Kitty to change her mind, I don’t see that happening. Not least because of the changes that have occurred to each man since the series beginning – I doubt any other choice is possible now! However, I did enjoy the banter between them and their little ‘pack of three’ – although I think it should be a pack of four now!

However, something was missing for me with this instalment. I felt like Kitty didn’t really do much. She got lost in tunnels and ran away. She didn’t really drive the story much, but simply reacted. As such, this isn’t the best in the series, but still a really enjoyable instalment in one of the most easily readable Urban Fantasy series.

Recommended for fans of Patricia Briggs and Nicole Peeler. 7 out 10.