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Halfway to the Grave
Night Huntress Book 1
By Jeaniene Frost

After finishing Frost’s Halfway to the Grave, my only regret is that I did not get a chance to read it sooner. Frost introduces us to a new heroine in the urban fantasy genre by the name of Catherine Kathleen Crawford, a lanky redhead with a rather sad and tragic past, a vicious temper, and damn good aim with throwing knives. What sets Cat apart from other heroines in this genre is her refusal to wallow in her past, her desire to move forward, and her ability to find the humor in any situation without loosing focus. And did I mention that killer aim?

Cat has spent her life knowing she was different, and being the product of a rape was really just the tip of the iceberg. You see, Cat’s not entirely human, she’s half-vampire in fact, and she spends the evenings trolling for the fiends that turned her mother’s world upside down. Then one night she’s captured by a vampire bounty hunter named Bones whose convinced that she’s being hired by the very vampire he’s spent eleven years hunting – Hennesy.

Cat’s convinced that all vampires are scum of the earth, and really, since she’s only got her mother’s experience and her own from hunting them to go by you can’t really blame her. Bones, however, throws Cat’s perceptions out the window and forces her to reevaluate her findings. Is there such a thing as a good vampire? Cat’s not entirely sure anymore. Together this duo set out to take down a ring of vampires who are nabbing human girls off the streets and selling them at a pretty penny. It becomes apparent soon enough though that there is more going on than the dirty dealings of vampires, there’s law and politics involved as well and that’s never a good thing.

While Frost’s world doesn’t really contribute anything to the genre in terms of originality when it comes to vampires, ghouls, and ghosts, the story itself is still a fun and enjoyable read that will have readers hooked from start to finish.

The entire book was rife with humor, be it dry witty banter, sarcastic repartee, biting asides, or just good old slapstick humor. Even the most tensest of scenes was lightened with a bit of humor. Now, sometimes that isn’t always a good thing, however Frost does an excellent job of injecting lighthearted humor without completely killing the mood or inducing the gag reflex. Take, for example, this scene: Cat and Bones are staking out a club looking for Hennesy and his crew when Cat’s looser of an ex-boyfriend wanders up to her and attempts to “catch up”. Bones persuades the guy that talking to Cat is a bad idea however. On the way out Cat and Bones have this exchange:

[…] Apparently we still had some issues to discuss over good killing versus bad. “Oh I have feelings for him, all right. I’d like to put him in the ground myself, believe me. Still, it would be wrong. Promise me.”
“Fine, I promise I won’t kill him.”
He said it too easily, my eyes narrowed.
“Promise me right here and now that you will also never cripple, maim, dismember, blind, torture, bleed, or otherwise inflict any injury on Danny Milton. Or otherwise stand by while someone else does as you watch.”
“Blimey, that’s not fair!”
Guess it was good I hadn’t just accepted his first agreement. (p253)

The ending was a bit of a surprise for me, I must confess. I very much expected this novel to follow the same annoying trend that a good majority of paranormal romances and urban fantasy books have been adhering to as of late. I’m sure you know the one I’m talking about; the good guys kick butt and take numbers, the cops arrive and it looks like it’s curtains for our heroes. Then, in one or two chapters, everything is nicely summarized and we’re told that the police have nothing to tie our heroes to the crime. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that after the nasty critters die their bodies disintegrate, thus no bodies no crime. Maybe instead some memories were messed with. Whatever the case, the heroes get no more than a “we know you did something, don’t know what, but we’re watching you” and then we go to more pressing matters – relationships! Sometimes we even get served a “good job, we’ll turn a blind eye for you” from the boys in blue.

It’s a nasty trend that tends to leave me dissatisfied, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. It may be a work of fiction, but it’s always nice to see some cold-hard reality in there. Needless to say Frost delivers on this and she does so with much gusto. Cat has been tied to a homicide, kidnapping, with a strange corpse thrown in by the human authorities. Cat uses this to draw the police to the vampire hideout as a sort of “cavalry” and in the process digs herself deeper in their eyes. Add to that she’s seen killing multiple people, attacked two officers of the law, evaded arrest, and murdered a politician. Frost doesn’t cheat her readers by pulling a deus ex machina and contriving a cheap ploy to magically make everything sunshine and roses for Cat. Instead Cat faces a very real and very daunting reality, in the law’s eyes she’s nothing but a murderer.

The story does not end there, nor does it end with Bones coming to the rescue and whisking Cat and her mother to safety. Instead, while hospitalized, Cat is approached by a government agent and offered a chance. They know what her “victims” really are, they know why she did what she did, and they know what she is. She can sign up with them, train their men to hunt down the vile creatures known as vampires, and become their best weapon in this war on the undead and unholy. Or she can die for her “crimes” and her mother can be left out where any vampire seeking revenge can get her. The choice is completely up to her.

With her mother’s life in her hands Cat realizes that this is battle she can’t win, at least not yet. I personally love a good conspiracy theory and I’ve been looking for a good series that boasts a government agency and the supernatural in an otherwise modern-day setting. I didn’t find that in Russe’s Darkwing Chronicles but I think Frost’s Night Huntress series just might have hit the nail on the hammer. In any case I find myself eager to read the second book in the series, One Foot in the Grave.

Joana’s Rating: (3 out of 5 stars)