The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

by Kim Harrison

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

HarperTorch (2005), 453 pages

Description

Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. HTML: The second novel in the addictive bestselling supernatural series begun with Dead Witch Walking. To save herself and her vampire roommate, former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan must confront six feet of sheer supernatural seduction�??the vampire master�??and dark secrets she's hidden even from herself

User reviews

LibraryThing member Lman

This is seriously good – a first-class entertaining romp through the world of Rachel Morgan’s paranormal existence. The Good, the Bad and the Undead, as a second book, holds a pleasing continuity with the first; happily for me, answering many of the queries posed previously whilst also

addressing the issues I felt problematic. And retaining a very necessary comic turn…

Despite no longer under a death threat Rachel still has problems earning her rent money; her agency Vampiric Charms failing to supply a significant income, especially when her clients refuse to pay for services rendered – if inadvertently superfluous! Hence Rachel is unwilling and unable to refuse the terms and conditions demanded when asked by the Federal Inderland Bureau to help in solving a recent series of horrific deaths of ley-line witches; murders which are still occurring with unsettling frequency. The subsequent investigation entwines all her associates, the FIB, the enigmatic Trent Kalamack, plus her boyfriend Nick, in a series of action-packed, fast-paced incidents that ultimately disclose many of the unknowns in the entire story-line; the design behind Ivy and Rachel’s relationship, the actuality of Trent Kalamack, and just who summoned that demon intent on killing them both! Oh, and so much more about ley-line magic and Rachel’s father than ever expected!

There is a texture to this premise, which the author has contrived, that I find difficult to define; suffice to say it accommodates intelligence and an ease to the story-telling complemented by an abundance of well-drawn personalities, all which satisfy on many levels. The mystery, the cunningly-conceived magical elements, the attitude, the wit, and the plot itself, all meld to provide an intricate, entertaining and gratifying mix, balanced skilfully between authenticity and fantasy; with no qualms at revealing the blacker aspects of the main characters. We get to meet Rachel’s mum, as does Nick – such fun taking the boyfriend home to meet the folks. And become privy to, possibly, way too much about her childhood... food for future thought that is. And left, still, with much unresolved, even if the finale is most agreeable!

Quite exquisite, this is a rollicking good read! The originality, and the reality, of life in The Hollows is a clever and fascinating conception, with enough humour to offset the intrinsic darkness of this world. And if this series, with their cleverly-titled books, are meant as some small homage to Clint Eastwood and his movies; to Ms Harrison and her classy creativity I say: “go ahead, make my day!”
(April 11th, 2009)

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LibraryThing member jenex

This unusually strong urban fantasy benefits from intricately detailed world-building and intriguing characters. Moments of wry humor lighten a chilling, tightly plotted mystery as Rachel draws closer to uncovering a brutal killer and in the process uncovers secrets in her past.

Superficially Rachel

is a type found in many contemporary mysteries: a sexy, smart-mouthed heroine with an endearing tendency to shoot herself in the foot. With restrained character-driven scenes offset by moments of pulse-pounding action, Harrison is able to move Rachel somewhat beyond the stereotype.

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LibraryThing member CynDaVaz

Another great read in The Hollows series, though you do start to pick up on certain repetitive phrases and situations at this point. It gets a little annoying at times.

LibraryThing member aweebishbookblog

This review first appeared on A Weebish Book Blog.

Rachel Morgan may have dodged a bullet when she beat a death threat three months ago, but her life is far from stable. There’s a serial killer loose in Cincinnati targeting witches and Rachel has volunteered as bait. Her old boss continues to make

her life unbearable, the FIB refuse to investigate Trent Kalamack ‘s involvement in the murders, and her relationship with Nick has hit a rough patch.

Rachel and Jenks continue to captivate as their plans continue to go awry in the most unfortunate yet humorous ways possible. Jenks and his family have become favorite secondary characters of mine. He’s such a snarky, mischievous pixie and I can’t get enough of him! They’ve also become quite important to Ivy and Rachel now that they’ve settles into their church’s garden. The two learn very quickly that pixies take home security to a whole ‘nother level. Which comes in handy when a certain troublemaking heroine is almost getting murdered every other day.

Ivy, however, is not adjusting well to living with Rachel. She continues to struggle with self-hatred and our heroine is learning all to well that rooming with a vampire who hates being a vampire is not the safest way to live. I guess it’s a good thing for Ivy that she picked a stubborn adrenaline junkie to become pals with.

Ever since his appearance in DEAD WITCH WALKING, I’ve had doubts that Nick would make a good boyfriend for Rachel. Those suspicions were confirmed when certain truths about his “hobbies” came to light. Things have irrevocably changed between Rachel and Nick and I don’t see their relationship lasting very long.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UNDEAD left me anxious for more Rachel Morgan adventures as Harrison answered many unexplained questions from the first novel, and raised even more by the end of this one. The Hollows has quickly become a fast favorite and I encourage urban fantasy fans to add it to their TBR’s as well..

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LibraryThing member willowwaw

Pretty good book by Kim Harrison. I like this one more than the first book and will start the third book in the series right away!

LibraryThing member hoosgracie

The continuing adventures of independent runner Rachel Morgan. In this adventure, Rachel must find who’s killing all the Ley line witches in Cincinatti. Fun book, reminiscent of early Laurell K. Hamilton.

LibraryThing member amberwitch

Rachel is having troubles making ends meet after becoming independent runner in this sequel to dead witch walking. She is employed as an inderlander (supernatural population) expert by the FIB who is investigating a series of witch killings. The evidence points towards Trent - the big bad biodrug

crimelord from DWW - being involved in the murders. During her investigation she commits herself to become a familiar to a demon, finds out that Trent is a - believed to be extinct - elver, and is attacked by several vampires, amongst those her roommate Ivy.
The behavior of Rachel in this book is so stupid it became hard to stay engaged in the story. It seems as if the author couldn't come up with a more believable plotline, and then just took the path of least resistance and made her protagonist act stupidly and - I'd like to believe - out of character (If her character is that way I wouldn't want to read about her).

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LibraryThing member SimonW11

The follow on from Dead Witch Walking was okay. Many of the unanswered questions from her first book were answered. But not unfortunately with surprises There are still plenty of things to be unravelled but some of the novelty of her milieu has dissipated.

LibraryThing member lewispike

High paced fun. The motif is continuing with the Clint Eastwood titles... but I'm not seeing them as the movies quite.

Mysteries resolved, new things opened, but things carrying on sufficiently enclosed it would probably read OK on it's own. The core story is certainly good enough to be read alone

even if the person reading it for the first time wonders a bit about the references to being a mink and so forth.

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LibraryThing member gwendolenau

Good: strong characters and plot; Rachel Morgan is an interesting protagonist.
Bad: clunky, overwritten prose drags down the pacing, lessening the impact of the plot; Rachel's impatience and impulsivity makes her annoying at times; poorly-proofed copy.

LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger

After reading Dead Witch Walking I went out and got the next three in series. I started this one right after Dead Witch, but decided I needed some space in between the books.

This one picks up where Dead Witch left off, and you really have to read them in order, because she builds on the story.

Ivy

just keeps getting better and better for me.

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LibraryThing member tuffstuff08

Interesting as usual. Rachel is getting just a tad bit evil here ^-^
Don't worry, she still rocks.

LibraryThing member bookwormteri

Rachel is facing the witch hunter, a serial killer focusing on witches, in the second of this series. She and her best friend Ivy, a vampire who is struggling to stay on the wagon, must navigate the Hollows to find out who or what is committing these murders. Rachel also finds a rather unusual

familiar for a ley line class that she takes.

I felt that this book was another strong showing in this series. I love the characters (even the baddies) and had a really hard time putting this down.

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LibraryThing member TheLibraryhag

This second in the series holds up to the first. It answers some questions and continues to develop the characters as well as building the mythology of this alternate universe. Hard to put down.

LibraryThing member ConnieJo

I was just as pleased with this book as I was the last. Rachael really makes a great main character, and the supporting cast and various villains and tasks she has to complete complement her nicely. I flew through this in a matter of hours, and I was amazed how well pretty much everything picked up

and continued from the last book... I'm more used to things stopping and starting over, I guess. This book ends with less questions too, which I also liked, though the ending made me feel a little worse than last time, and I found myself wishing against several things that had happened. Nothing will stop me from continuing the series though, and I'm looking forward to picking up the next book.

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LibraryThing member miyurose

Man oh man, I like this series. I really hated for this one to end! I like Rachel, even if she tends to be bull-headed and downright stupid sometimes. I can relate to some of her indecision and refusal to see what’s right in front of her. The supporting cast of Ivy, Jenks, Nick, and even Trent

Kalamack are back in this one, and this is one of the only series I’ve read lately that really has a continuing storyline through the books. There’s a lot of danger and mayhem, and a little more sex in this one than in the last. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Rachel in the next books. The return of Detective Glenn, perhaps? This may not be high quality literature, but it’s fast and furious and fun, and a lot of the time that’s all I need.

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LibraryThing member riverwillow

This was a present from a friend and to my surprise I really enjoyed it, especially as it is clearly part of a series and I haven't read the others.

LibraryThing member dragonfairy

Kim Harrison's second Rachel Morgan book was just as engaging as the first. Harrison does a wonderful job threading her story and her magic. Rachel's life is a barrage of trouble and excitement. Rachel's adventures keep you enthralled and interested, while taking you down new paths. The

introductions of new characters and the return of old villians combined with a more complex story provide hours of entertainment that are sure to have you wanting more. I was ready for book three when I finished this one.

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LibraryThing member vampyredhead

The 2nd in the Rachel Morgan, bounty hunter series. Rachel is also a witch. Full of witches, vampires, pixies, demons, and more. This book was so much better then the first. It was fun, entertaining, suspenseful read. The last 100 pages you can't put it down. It's that good.

LibraryThing member kingoftheicedragons

I thought this book, the second in the Hollows series, was a great improvement over the first book as you start to learn more about Rachel's background and how the backstory of her and her arch-nemesis, Trent Kalamek, intersect. She starts to feel more like a real person in this book. This book is

just a lot of fun to read, from the start when Rachel is trying to retrieve the supposedly stolen mascot for the local baseball team to the end when she is facing down the witch hunter. After reading this book, I'm convinced that I will continue to read books in this series.

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LibraryThing member thotcriminal

All of these books have a lot of humor and action. I love them.
",,,,
A Fistful of Charms (Rachel Morgan/The Hollows

LibraryThing member Mariecg

2nd in the Rachel Morgan series. Life is not easy for white witch bounty hunter Morgan, she lives with a vampire, her boyfriend has the bad habit of calling a demon, her clients don't always pay her, and her demon mark reacts really strongly to vampires. And now ley line witches are killed...

I

just love that series :o) Action, suspense, humor and a little romance... everything is there! Rachel is a white witch with principles but she has to face reality and most accept to go against her values sometimes to survive and help her friends survive. In this book, she also learns more about her past and her father. I can't wait to read the next installement in that series (but I have to wait until my books are unpacked). I gave it 4.5

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LibraryThing member kayceel

Someone's killing ley-line witches, and Rachel's on the case, which will unfortunately bring her back in contact with bad-guy Trent, tempting vampires, and the demon in whose debt she may find herself, AGAIN. Good and fast-paced, though I am finding Rachel frustrating and a bit disturbing. Seems to

be going in the Anita Blake erotic direction...

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LibraryThing member seekingflight

Nothing special, but pleasant light reading. A good book to wind down with, and perhaps a little above average in its category due to the plot twists (which kept me guessing) and characters that I started to care about.

LibraryThing member sdtaylor555

Just as good, if not better than the first book! Yummy!

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