The Story

Kat Lightfoot is not your average girl. Our first adventure with her, in Zombies at Tiffany's, saw her and her steampunk fuelled gang - Pepper and Martin- hoisting guns, packed with diamond shards and lasers to blast zombie heads, fighting a war much more important to mankind's survival than the civil war taking place in the south.

We catch back up with her a few years later, still toting more firearms than most swat teams. She's honed her skills, weapons and attire - opting for tight-fitted trousers rather than the puffy skirts. She is gracious enough to hide this fact, wearing her trousers under a removable skirt, so as to keep her mother at least slightly pleased.

Though Kat, Pepper and Martin fought of the major attack from the darkness, pushing the zombies back enough for them to be thwarted, the darkness still surrounds them. Everywhere they go, lat and the gang are on watch for demons and other minions of the darkness, trying to fit in with the crowd until they need to feed.

With such an action-packed life, Kat is pleased to travel with her family, and Pepper of course, to the south to see her brother and meet his new family, after getting married to the lovely Maggie Pollitt. Who wouldn't want a nice break from fighting evil?

Soon, they are caught up in more than they expected. From Orlando, the attractive brother of Maggie, hitting on Kat constantly, to Henry and Maggie having troubles, they find that family life is not all as it seems in the south. Soon Kat starts to notice, maybe that's not all that's wrong with this family...especially with a nephilim in the family.

What were the Pollitts doing to have a child who is the spawn of a human and demon mix? What is the shadow everyone seems so afraid of? Why are there drums constantly playing at night?? Is all this talk of voodoo really necessary?

One thing's for sure. There's something happening on the Pollitt plantation, something very dark indeed, and Kat's not leaving until she gets to the bottom of it...ichor and all. The question is, will she make it out alive?

What Did I Think?

Another story of written perfection from Sam Stone. She knows exactly how to give characters enough detail to make you fall in love with them, hate them, want to know them in real life. You feel as though you have know them your whole life. Yet, you are still able to be blown away by the surprises and twists that Stone throws at you. You feel betrayed, heartbroken and angry when another turn in the story happens. How? Why? You question how this 'person' you have know everything about for the last 100 pages of your life could possibly be anything other than what you thought.

You find yourself glued to the pages, wondering what is really happening, hoping for the safety of some and wishing for the demise of others. There are tears of joy, feelings of fear and the stench of burnt flesh.

I love the fact that the plot has depth and it is much more than the typical 'family playing an evil trick on guests' sort of story. It has so much more to it and all the emotions you would expect in those occasions, has been written by Stone. She hasn't missed a single detail and in shows in the truly brilliant story she has woven.

I found it intriguing that, unlike many other series, she hasn't just picked up where the last story left off. She broke ties and moved on to a new adventure, but still kept the underlying link to the darkness. I found the was perfect, as it meant that we knew the main characters and what they were battling as a whole, yet there was a fresh feel to the story as you were introduced to new types of demons and evil, all had to be battled in a different way, the back story was completely new and this kept you both hooked and itching to find out the truth behind Callon and the Pollitts.

OVERALL: I think if I gave this book anything other than a perfect rating I would be lying. It is superbly written, has depth, twists/turns, emotion, blood, gore, fear and even makes time for a little love (but only a hint of it ;) )

The more I read from the Kat Lightfoot mysteries, the more I become obsessed. I want there to be more more more. She is a brilliant main character, standing out against the mold of the Civil War era women, and she's proud of it. The backstory is excellent and has so much room to be explored, as well as each new book having a different timeframe and plot - but all still based around defeating the darkness. I love it!

I would highly recommend this book to any of my readers who like/love fantasy, dark fantasy, steampunk and even sic-fi as I feel you would all find something to love in this book. I also think it is good for most ages - YA to adult, male and female alike. ( )