If you love urban fantasy with a kick-ass heroine, you
will not be disappointed with the Anna Strong Vampire
series
by Jeanne C. Stein. I admire how Stein blends supernatural
creatures with issues that are front-page news of today.
This realism in an urban fantasy novel brings an element of
empathy that allows the reader to empathize with the
characters on a deeper level. Stein has a knack for writing
characters that pop off the page and you either love or
detest them. Anna Strong is a character that I adore! She
is strong, assertive, and an all-out action hero, but flip
the coin and she is sensitive and endearing as well. She
was made into a vampire during the first book in the series,
but Anna is constantly facing very human issues. HAUNTED is
the perfect name for the eighth book in the series for
several reasons. The most important reason is that several
of the characters in the book are haunted either by deeds of
the past or monstrosities they face in the present.
In HAUNTED, Anna is alone at Christmas and feeling
sorry for herself so she heads over to visit her friend
Culebra, a shape-shifter that owns a bar for supernatural
people on the other side of the US border from San Diego.
While visiting her friend, she learns some of Culebra's
history with a drug cartel. She scorns Culebra for his
behavior while with the drug cartel even though Anna's past
is far from spotless. Later on, Anna runs into a man
wandering aimlessly in the desert. Anna takes him to the
nearest respite to their location, Culebra's home. The man
happens to be an old friend of Culebra's from their cartel
days and asks him for help. It seems that his family is
being targeted by the drug lord who runs the cartel. Culebra
feels an obligation to help due to a past debt that he must
repay. He asks Anna and her ex-boyfriend Max, who is a DEA
agent, to help him. They set off across the desert and soon
encounter betrayal, human trafficking, gun-running, and
brutality in many other forms.
As I mentioned earlier, Stein is wonderful at
incorporating supernatural elements into real life events.
In HAUNTED, we see Anna encounter young girls who have been
brutalized by members of a drug cartel. My heart wept at the
fact that this kind of brutality really happens and that is
why Jeanne Stein's writing is so effective. Stein can weave
her words so well that you see the action as it occurs as
well as feel the heartfelt emotion on the page. The Anna
Strong character has grown stronger and more confident
throughout the series and I'm glad to learn that her story
is not over. I would suggest that you read the series in
order, but if you pick up HAUNTED before the others, Stein
does a good job of keeping the details simple. There is a
ninth book in the Anna Strong Vampire series due out in 2013
and I highly recommend that you catch up on Anna's
adventures!
Anna Strong—kick-ass bounty hunter and vampire—has made
some enemies in her time. But it’s not just her old foes she
should be worried about…
Anna’s shape-shifting
friend Culebra finally opens up to her about his life before
he owned Beso de la Muerte, a bar catering to supernatural
clientele. As if summoned by the conversation, Culebra’s
past stumbles into his bar in the form of an old buddy
cashing in a favor.
Soon Anna, Culebra and her ex,
DEA agent Max, find themselves deep in Mexico, dealing with
drug cartel infighting, old vendettas and missing girls.
Mexico just may prove to be Anna’s best match yet…
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