Tuesday, September 7, 2010

CBR Book#59: No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong


Another day, another Kelley Armstrong book. Haters to the left. Also, there may be SPOILER IN HURR!



This is book number seven in the Women of the Otherworld series. This book focuses on necromancer Jaime Vegas. Jaime was actually the star of the short story that got me on an Armstrong kick, so you can blame or congratulate her for that. No Humans Involved begins with the viewpoint of a 'street kid' named Brendan that has been taken in by a couple who saw him on the street. He is ready for them to show their hand and possibly ask him to involve himself in a menage a trois with them, but he isn't ready for what they actually have in store for him. The unknown couple now has some of their friends with them and they pour gasoline on Brendan and burn him alive.

We cut to Jaime Vegas preparing for what she thinks will be her big break into television. She, and two other supposed psychics, have been invited to live in a house in Brentwood and attempt to contact the ghost of Marilyn Monroe via seance. Jaime is, of course, the real deal. She sees ghosts whether she wants to or not and has controlled zombies in past books. She usually ignores her real powers in her stage shows and television performances, preferring to cold read the grieving and give them closure. She feels that helping one ghost will open the afterlife gates and bring her a non-stop flurry of spirits following her and clamoring for her help. So she prefers to keep her ghost communications to Eve and special circumstances.

Once Jaime is in the house in Brentwood, she begins to hear whispers and feel the soft caresses and pats of spirits that she, for some reason, can't see. Determined to figure out what has happened to these spirits and what she can do to help them, Jaime calls on Eve, werewolf pack Alpha Jeremy, and a half-demon named Hope to investigate claims of sacrifice and humans performing magic.

I have to say that Jaime was a difficult character to get behind after I've read stories with her in the background of seemingly stronger women like Elena and Paige. Of course, once you get your own novel, you tend to flesh out a bit more and provide insight as to why you are perceived the way that you are. Jaime really grew on me. She is more savvy than she tends to let on and she is a dirty, dirty girl! I mean, for real! One of the scenes with her teasing Jeremy was really raunchy! Anyway, Jaime also embraces and begins to more fully understand that her powers are no less than that of a werewolf or a witch. It's just that her powers need to be used more sparingly.

Since I skipped around a bit in the books, I didn't know how Jaime and Jeremy finally got together until this novel. I just knew that they were together. I also feel like there could be a cute short story in here somewhere about Elena and Clay dealing with the twins while Jeremy was away on his adventure. It really was another excellent novel from Armstrong.

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