Faith Hunter

Jane Yellowrock — (2009-2012) Publisher: First in a brand new series from the author of the rogue mage novels Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind — a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps...

Soon available download at Audible.com.

Skinwalker

The fantasy shelves are rife these days with tough ladies fighting supernatural crime, but Faith Hunter delivers something original.

The originality of Skinwalker begins with Jane Yellowrock, the heroine. Jane is a loner and a smart aleck, but her similarities to the stereotypical urban-fantasy protagonist end there. Jane is a skinwalker — a shapeshifter drawn from Native American folklore — and she lives in a sort of symbiosis with "Beast," the spirit of a mountain lion. Some chapters are narrated from Beast's perspective and Faith Hunter does a great job of altering her style to fit Beast's feline thought processes. Then there's Jane's strange past, mysterious even to Jane herself, and her deep-seated (but never obtrusive or preachy) Christian faith.

Jane is hired by Katie, a vampire and madam, to hunt down a rogue vampire who has been killing others of its own kind. In the course of her investigation, Jane discovers that this rogue may be something stranger even than an ordinary vampire. She also learns a few tantalizing hints about the origin of vampires. It seems that Hunter's vamps may date back to the mystery cults of Rome (and I can't wait to find out more of this backstory).

The plot of Skinwalker is fast-paced and adrenaline-filled. It moved a little slowly for me in the beginning, in part because of the complexities of vampire politics, and in part because I'm not familiar enough with either guns or motorcycles to fully appreciate Jane's high-tech, lavishly-described gear. But as the climax approached, the action was nonstop and had me on the edge of my proverbial seat. Plus, I've got a soft spot for novels set in New Orleans. Hunter's New Orleans is extremely vivid, from the beignets to the flood damage.

Readers who are tired of the more "romancey" urban fantasies may find something to like here. Jane becomes attracted to a few people, but romance is definitely on the back burner in Skinwalker.

Overall, this is an exciting, unusual urban fantasy, and I recommend it to readers looking for a butt-kicking heroine who's a little different from the norm. —Kelly Lasiter

Blood Cross

A few short weeks after Skinwalker ends, Jane Yellowrock is in trouble again. Leo Pellissier, the leader of New Orleans’ vampires, is mad with grief after the recent events, and in his madness, he blames Jane for his losses. And this time it’s not just Jane who’s in danger. Her witch best friend, Molly, and Molly’s two children are staying with Jane now, and Leo’s grudge could cost them their lives.

As if this weren’t enough trouble for one girl (and one Beast), there’s an even more dangerous vampire on the loose, and he or she is kidnapping witch children for nefarious purposes. This vampire’s deeds threaten to upset the balance of power among the city’s vampires and start a cataclysmic war.

And so, Faith Hunter plunges the reader into another harrowing episode of Jane’s life, filled with action and written in thick, detail-rich prose. (When I say detail-rich, I mean it; I considered taking notes at one point in order to keep the vampire factions straight in my mind.) Along the way, Jane learns more about her Cherokee background, the tangled history of the vampire clans and the witch covens, and the genesis of the very first vampires. I think these revelations of history were actually my favorite parts of Blood Cross! I enjoyed the present-day action, but every time Hunter delved into supernatural history and how it fit in with “real” history and religious lore, I was riveted.

There was a bit too much deus ex machina in the climactic fight, but I did enjoy the resolution of the romantic subplot, and the reason Jane chose as she did.

Blood Cross isn’t perfect, but it’s cemented my belief that Hunter is an urban fantasy writer to watch.
—Kelly Lasiter

Mercy Blade

Jane Yellowrock and her new boyfriend, Rick, are enjoying a brief respite from supernatural mayhem, staying at Jane’s residence in the Appalachians as they pack her belongings for a more long-term stay in New Orleans. Their peace is disrupted by an early morning news report that reveals the existence of werecats. As the story travels around the world, werewolves come out of the closet too, and one alpha werewolf appears on national television to accuse Jane’s boss, Leo Pellissier, of a long-ago murder.

Naturally, this means Jane is called back to New Orleans to help Leo with damage control. Rick’s work is back in full swing, too. He’s on an undercover mission that keeps him from communicating with Jane much at all during the book.

There are a ton of things going on here. At times I was confused by all the plotlines that were hitting the fan. It’s not just that I couldn’t guess the answers — I wasn’t quite sure what the most relevant questions were. Who really did commit the murders? Who and what is Girrard DiMercy, the enigmatic stranger who rescues Jane from a werewolf attack, and what is his agenda? How do the African werecats fit into all this? What’s Rick doing? Is Rick cheating on Jane, and if so, should she give Bruiser another chance? Why is Evangelina acting strangely? What is the grindylow doing? How did werecreatures originate? Why is Katie out of her healing stasis prematurely? What happened a hundred years ago in vampire politics that helped trigger the current events?

Truth be told, there’s always been an element of confusion in the Jane Yellowrock novels. Faith Hunter creates huge tangles of plot ideas and it’s sometimes easy to get lost in them. Some of this is because they’re mysteries, which presuppose a degree of obfuscation, but even as mysteries go, these books are complicated. Some readers will enjoy this intricacy more than others. In my opinion, the confusion was easier to stomach in Skinwalker and Blood Cross because Hunter was introducing Jane’s world and history in those two books. In Mercy Blade, with much of the background already built, the confusion is more frustrating.

Several of the confusing aspects become clearer at the end, and are wrapped up in satisfying and clever ways. Others seem convoluted even after they’re explained, though, and a few feel like pieces from the wrong puzzle, even after the book’s end. 

If you’ve enjoyed the Jane Yellowrock books previously, there is still a lot to like in Mercy Blade. There’s plenty of motorcycle-riding, gun-toting action; a richly detailed New Orleans atmosphere; a healthy dollop of sexual tension; a beautiful scene of mysticism; and a few (though fewer than before) chapters told from Beast’s point of view. Especially amusing is Beast’s reaction to Jane shifting into a dog for part of her investigation. The lycanthropes’ history is also fascinating.

I’m a little disappointed in Mercy Blade overall, however. The behavior of certain recurring characters plays a role, as they become less sympathetic (though it’s to Hunter’s credit that she makes me care enough about these characters to get mad at them when they behave badly). The confusion, though, is the biggest problem. I can deal with confusion in the first book of a series. It’s more annoying in the third. —Kelly Lasiter