"Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand" by Carrie Vaughn (Grand Central)

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Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Carrie Vaughn
320 pp. Grand Central Publishing. $6.99
Pub. Date: 1/27/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0446199537

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

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Las Vegas. Sin City, USA. A city that never sleeps, never rests, never apologizes. ‘Sorry’ isn’t in its vocabulary. And guilt is a foreign concept. Sparkling neon lights, rattling coins, metallic beeps, burps and buzzes concealing a quiet desperation, an all-consuming greed. It’s the American Dream run amok, a desire for instant gratification taken to perverse ends. It is sidewalks paved with gold. Our gold. The land of lost wages. Elvis impersonators. Quickie weddings. Talentless lounge acts. Tacky theme-park inspired resorts. And bad taste.

Really bad taste.

In other words, the perfect setting for urban fantasy. Don’t believe me? Walk through any Vegas casino at 3 am and you’ll see the living dead, bloodshot eyes and pallid, bloodless skin, playing the slots. Or staring bleary-eyed at their cards, cocktail in their hand.

Las Vegas and urban fantasy. The perfect complement. Like chocolate and peanut butter. Abbott and Costello. Monkeys and turd-flinging. Where weird and bizarre meet normal, and the lines between fiction and fact blur. Where what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Because no one outside of the town would ever believe it.

Enter Denver area radio show host Kitty Norville—the first publicly outed werewolf and blushing bride to be. Kitty and her fiancé (and pack mate) Ben want to avoid the rigors involved in planning a big wedding. Why go through all that hassle, they decide, when they can just elope in Vegas. Maybe they can even do Kitty’s radio show remotely and package the whole extravaganza as a business trip.

Her radio station manager loves the idea, booking Kitty’s Vegas act quicker than you can say drive-thru wedding chapel. Not only is Kitty going to do her radio show, she’s going to do it on live TV. So Kitty and Ben rush off to the casino capital of the world, excited about their upcoming nuptials. And the chance to relax, sit by the pool and enjoy fruity alcoholic beverages.

So what could possibly go wrong?

How about a gun convention going on in their hotel. The one catering to psycho supernatural bounty-hunters who’d like nothing more than to add a werewolf head to their mantle. Or the message Kitty must personally deliver to the vampire Master of Las Vegas. And there’s also the enigmatic magician in town suspected of doing real magic. Not to mention a mysterious animal show everyone warns her away from.

So what’s a werewolf/radio show host to do to keep her pelt silver bullet free? And still be able to walk down the aisle to get her holy matrimony on.

“Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand” is pure fun, like a day at your favorite theme park, stuffing yourself with ice cream and pretzels. The proverbial rollercoaster, chocked full of thrilling excitement. It’s utterly frivolous, a light and fluffy popcorn novel meant to be consumed sans brainpower. The equivalent of an urban fantasy Twinkie. Yet the novel is incredibly infectious and endearing. An urban fantasy charmer with a twinkle in its eye and an Ace up its sleeve. A literary magician that enthralls, coaxing you to the very edge of your seat.

Note that “Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand” is urban fantasy. Not paranormal romance. Not sparkling vampires with purity rings. Publishers and authors often blur these genres together now, sadly almost to the point of being indistinguishable from each other. The novel’s ubiquitous sexy-tattooed-woman-posing-provocatively cover doesn’t help. (Can someone please design an urban fantasy cover that isn’t publicly humiliating? Where people don’t look at me as if I just flunked out of a twelve-step program for deviants.) The biggest difference—“Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand” will appeal to a broader audience. And by broader I mean both male and female.

Carrie Vaughn impressed me recently with her excellent contribution to the George R.R. Martin edited Wild Cards mosaic novel, “Busted Flush.” And she doesn’t disappoint here flying solo. Vaughn’s characterizations are wonderfully realized, quirky, unique and endearing. These are the interesting friends you wish you had. Like comfort food on legs. Look up spunky in the dictionary, and you’ll see Kitty’s picture. She’s a bouncing ball bristling with manic energy. A lycanthropic Nancy Drew. Pesky, but infinitely loveable.

Even though Kitty is a werewolf, Vaughn doesn’t exploit this gimmick. Except for one instance, Kitty keeps her inner werewolf leashed throughout the novel. Her wolfen side is still there, hiding just below the surface, lending its instincts and observations to Kitty. But Kitty’s the action hero. Wolfie’s just along for the ride. And that makes “Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand” much more interesting. Because when Kitty’s in trouble, she sorts it out, letting Wolfie warm the bench.

The novel is structured like a mystery. Kitty investigating weird things, puzzling out how they all fit together. Mostly it works. But the ending was a disappointment. The sum not as interesting as its parts. Causing me to ask—is this the best conclusion Vaughn could come up with? Still it’s only one missed note in an otherwise catchy tune.

Last Word:
A fun, fast read “Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand” is urban fantasy written to appeal to a broad audience. Fluffy like a high-tech, special effects-laden summer movie, all big action and chills and thrills, the novel’s a real crowd pleaser. If you’re looking for something deep, pass this one by. But if you’re looking for an entertaining afternoon read, Kitty’s your ticket.

Final Grade: 75 out of 100

Related Posts:
"Busted Flush" edited by George R.R. Martin (Tor)
"Unclean Spirits" by M.L.N. Hanover (Pocket)
"Vicious Circle" by Mike Carey (Grand Central)