Book Review: Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand by Carrie Vaughn
Grand Central Publishing, a Hatchette Book Group
282 Pages
Copyright 2009

Ben O’Farrell and Kitty Norvell are the alpha wolves of the Denver pack. As such, they are mated for life. As humans, they find themselves planning a wedding that either really wants. The solution? Las Vegas where Kitty finds herself doing her radio show on television. Ben finds himself winning at poker while using his werewolf instincts. And the happy couple find themselves staying at a hotel where there just happens to be a gun convention going on – a convention that includes several people who Ben knows from his werewolf hunting days, some of whom may now be hunting Kitty.

Tossed into the mix are Kitty’s parents, who appear to be on a second honeymoon, a magician who may be using real magic, and an animal show where the ‘animals’ just happen to be lycanthropes of the cat family.

When Ben disappears hours before they’re supposed to be married, Kitty finds herself seeking help from the strangest sources including the Master Vampire of Las Vegas, Dom, who may not be what he appears to be; the pack leader of the creepy lycanthrope sideshow, who may not be what they appear to be, the magician, who may be more than he appears and, strangest of all, the bounty hunters, who are what they appear to be.

While I enjoyed the story and the characters, especially the creepy lycanthrope sideshow, I’ve got to admit that this book was less than I had hoped it would be. It seems to be more of a set up for the next book than an honest stand alone book. Plus, Kitty resorted to some atypical behavior that struck me as wrong.

My biggest problem of the book, however, has little to do with plot or character. It has to do with an attitude that I know belongs to the author – Vaughn dislikes guns and it is a position she strongly pushes in this book:

A gun show. The producer had booked me into the same hotel as a gun show. From a certain perspective, this was hilarious.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. The clerk maintained her smiling customer-service expression and handed us the packet with our key cards. We moved off to find the elevators.

Ben took the flyer from me and actually chuckled. “Wow. What are the odds?”

“Is it too late to change hotels?” I said. “I don’t want to sleep in the same building as a gun show. I can’t believe they booked me at the same hotel as a gun show!”

And:

I don’t like guns. I had recently learned more about them than I ever wanted to know, including how to shoot as a matter of survival. But I didn’t carry one with me. I didn’t want to. In my experience, nothing good happened when guns are involved.

And:

Most of the people walking past looked entirely normal. Without the gun-show sign I’d never have suspected any of them of being gun-toting maniacs.

As one of those gun-toting maniacs, I have a problem with the position... but that’s all I will say about the subject.

Recommendations: It’s an okay book. Not the best in the series but still enjoyable and it does set up the next book, which is due out in March, well.