Ohio - Present Day

Catherine Crawford was never a normal child and, at twenty two, it certainly shows. The product of a vampire rape, a fact no one believes except her mother, Cat has never been sick a day in her life and is stronger than most men. As soon as she was able, Cat decided to rid the world of as many vampires as she could to prevent what happened to her mother from happening again. It has been six years since she started her campaign, and, though it was very much trial and error at first, Cat has gotten good at catching and dispatching her subjects...until one decides to change the rules.

Bones can't believe this human tried to kill him, a master vampire, and, worse, she killed his target before he could get the information he needed out of him. Determined to find out whom she works for, Bones decides to dish up a little torture. Discovering that his little captive is half human/half vampire is surprising to say the least, but he is absolutely aghast at the knowledge that she figured out how to kill vampires from books and television when she was sixteen. What's the bleeding world coming to?

Not stupid by any stretch of the imagination, Bones, a vampire assassin himself, decides to use Cat as a decoy to catch even bigger prey. He doesn't really give her a choice; it's work with him or die. It's not long before their working relationship takes a more romantic turn. I mean, what vampire could resist all that lovely human flesh that still has the strength to withstand a vampire's full attentions? Not Bones, that's for sure, even with two hundred plus years between their ages. But can this way out of whack May/December relationship stand the test of time and killing vampires?

HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is an outrageously hilarious adventure that readers won't be able to put down. Cat Crawford is a petite, redheaded dynamo also affectionately known as the Red Reaper for her inability to leave a vampire alive for questioning. Bones, for you Buffy the Vampire Slayer lovers out there, is everything I would imagine Spike would be in book form -- British, snarky, and oh so irresistible. Cat, despite having started killing vampires at sixteen, is still quite young in age and sexual development. Paired with the very worldly Bones, you can imagine the funny situations they get into as he realizes some of the things his pint-sized killer doesn't know about sex and other things.

A well written plot weaves in several secondary characters who add background to the tale as well as seeding future stories with these characters. Cat's mother is a huge influence on her life and unintentionally inspires quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, especially with her supposedly fanatic aversion to foreigners. Cat's response to a beautiful vampiress is also so hilarious that you might want to wait until you're alone in a quiet place before reading that section or you'll certainly get looks when you roll off of your seat. The tension and suspense keep readers on pins and needles wondering what will happen next and whether it will be funny, scary, or both.

The paranormal genre, and as it specifically relates to vampires, has seen a glut of new tales and authors in the last few years. So, while it's thrilling to have a plethora of lovely books to choose from, it has also become increasingly difficult to find something unique enough to stand apart from the pack. With it's edginess, humor, and engaging characters, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE does it in spades, earning it the Romance Reviews Today's coveted Perfect 10 and Jeaniene Frost a spot as an author to watch.

Kathy Samuels