Florida, Present Day

Jaz Parks works for the CIA on cases that fall into the paranormal realm. Jaz is the only survivor of a team of vampire slayers; she trusts no one, and works best alone. However, Vayl, the top CIA assassin, decides he needs Jaz as his assistant, so she finds herself in a new partnership with a disturbingly attractive vampire. They are assigned to work in Miami to investigate a supposedly philanthropic plastic surgeon, Assan, suspected of funneling the money he collects for charity to a terrorist organization. They must discover where the money is going and may have to kill Assan. As they begin to investigate the case, they discover a plan more convoluted and horrific than they expected. Assan is part of a plan to unleash a new plague on humankind, via a hungry, soul-eating demon, and if that’s not bad enough, one of Assan’s partners might be a highly placed traitor in the CIA.

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY is paranormal spy adventure, with some elements of the horror genre, especially its Cthulhu-like monsters. Ms. Rardin relates much of the story in a first-person narrative from the point of view of the main character, Jaz Parker, who combines elements of James Bond and Stephanie Plum. She is a wisecracking thrill seeker, but sometimes she seems like a vulnerable young woman who doesn’t understand what has happened to her. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that something did happen to her, but she does not, or will not, remember it. Jaz often hints at deeply sad, irresolvable problems that she avoids facing -- in the way she lives her life, in snappy repartee with her partner, and the friends she picks up along the way. Ms. Rardin tries to pack a lot into the introduction of her character and the series; sometimes there is too much going on. This is not a deep metaphysical romance, but readers might find that Jaz, a bundle of contrasts, has a lot of interesting baggage, just enough to snag their interest.

The next in this series, ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST, will be issued in December 2007.

Lisa Baca