Review : Living With the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

Title : Living With the Dead
Author : Kelley Armstrong
Publisher : Bantam
Genre : Paranormal Romance
ISBN : 978-0553588545
Series :#9 Women of the Otherworld
Release Date : August 25, 2009
Rating : 4.5/5 Stars - Loved It.

Description from Goodreads :

They’re smart, sexy, and supernatural. They’re the men and women of the Otherworld—a realm of witches, ghosts, and werewolves who live unseen among us. Only now a reckless killer has torn down the wall, trapping one very human woman in the supernatural cross fire.

Robyn Peltier moved to Los Angeles after her young husband’s sudden death, trying to put some distance between herself and her memories. Though she’s still grieving, the challenges of her new life as the PR consultant to Portia Kane—the world’s most famous celebutante wannabe—can sometimes be amusing, even distracting. But when her client is gunned down in the back room of a nightclub, Robyn is suddenly on the run as the prime suspect in the murder. And as more bodies pile up around her, it seems like only Hope Adams, Robyn’s best friend, and Hope’s somewhat spooky boyfriend Karl are on Robyn’s side. Hope Adams follows the kinds of stories whose headlines scream from supermarket checkout lines. But the difference is that Hope’s stories are even weirder—and they’re all true. Though determined to help Robyn, Hope knows it’s only a matter of time before her friend is caught. But it’s not the police Hope is worried about. For Robyn has gotten herself in the middle of a turf war between two powerful Otherworld cabals who’ll spill any amount of blood—human and inhuman—to protect what they consider theirs for all eternity. And the only way Hope can keep her friend alive is by letting her enter a world she’s safer knowing nothing about.

Review : 

Robyn Peltier never knew that moving to Los Angelas would be such a eye-opening experience.  It's one thing following around a famous celebutante like Portia Kane, clearly another when your being chased down by psychotic murderers.  All she ever wanted to do was move away from the horrible memories of her husbands death, not walk straight into more.  When her client is gunned down in the back room of a  local night club, Robyn is the prime suspect for murder. 

Hope Adams is Robyn's best friend, and she will do anything to clear her good friend's name.  It's crazy enough that Robyn is being hunted down by the police for a murder she didn't commit, but now they have to worry about being stuck in the middle of a turf war between Otherworld Cabals.  Hope wants to keep the secrets of the Otherworld as far from her friend's ears as possible, but it may be the only way to save her.  It's going to take a lot of help to clear her of this one, and Hope knows just the people who can get the job done.

I've been a big fan of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld Series, and it's no surprise that I would love this book.  I read a lot of reviews on Amazon before reading this book, and I was a bit skeptical.  A lot of people said they got confused with the constant point-of-view change, but personally I didn't have a problem with it at all.  Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of different point-of-views in this installment, from Robyn, to Hope, to Karl, and even the murderer.  It was a real brain boggler in the beginning.  As soon as I got my bearings, which didn't take long, just a few short chapters, I was able to enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed every other installment in this fabulous series.

I loved how Robyn was determined to do her part in helping to find the murderer of her client, while not really knowing the full scheme of things.  She put herself in danger quite a few times, and on many occasions needed the help of her friends to get out of it, but she did it in stride.  I honestly don't know how I would react in her situation, being hunted by both the police and a psychotic killer.  I'd probably end up climbing under my bed and hoping for the best.

I was super excited to finally learn more about Hope Adams, and her lover Karl Marsten.  They've shown their faces in previous installments in this series, but I've been wondering when they would surface as main characters.  They had always had an on and off again romance brewing, and it was nice to see how things turned out between them here.  

I'm worried about what will occur in the coming novels with Hope though, because she has some big choices to make, and I hope she will make the right ones.  It makes me want to pick up the next installment right now and read it, but unfortunately I'll have to find a way to get my hands on it first.  I can't wait to see where things will go with the Otherworld in the next installment, Frostbitten.

Where did I get this book? :

I purchased my copy of Living With the Dead by Kelley Armstrong from BookDepository.com.

Amazon Affiliates : 

Clicking on title links of this book will redirect you to Amazon.com. If you choose to purchase Living With the Dead after clicking on these links I will receive a small percentage of the profits.