LIVING WITH THE DEAD by Kelley Armstrong

After the death of her husband, Damon, relocating to L.A. seems like the right move for Robin Peltier. Her new job as PR consultant to society girl Portia Kane keeps her busy and focused on something other than Damon's senseless death. When Portia is murdered at a local hot spot, Robin, who's discovered with the body, becomes the main suspect. Through a series of misadventures, Robin finds herself implicated in another murder that same night. Instead of turning herself in, Robin panics and runs.

A mortal with no knowledge of the Otherworld and its inhabitants, Robin is about to step blindly through the looking glass and experience the Others first hand. Although she's never known or suspected it, her best friend Hope Adams is a powerful Chaos Demon, and Hope, along with her werewolf boyfriend Karl Marsten, easily track down Robin the next day. Hope and Karl know that Robin isn't guilty of killing anyone and decide the best course of action is to keep Robin one step ahead of the long arm of the law and mislead Detective John "Finn" Findlay while they gather enough evidence to exonerate her.

Finn doesn't consider himself an Other, but he does have a remarkable ability of his own; dead people talk to him. Although ghosts generally aren't much help in solving murders, his current spectral companion is proving to be very useful in tracking the elusive PR woman who seems somewhat of a phantom herself. Poor Robin; she's entered a topsy-turvy new world. One where she has powerful friends and allies pulling for her, but this is also a world where a half-crazed killer tracks her every move with a psychic ability even Hope and Karl can't combat.

Things are changing in the Otherworld. This is no time for one scared and confused mortal woman to be thrown into the mix.

I've been hooked on this urban fantasy series since the first book. I always appreciate that characters from former books figure in the forefront of the action, this time Hope and Karl are back. The killer is a manipulative lunatic with an agenda and a giant ego and the tension she creates throughout the book is delicious. The overall Otherworld arc keeps moving forward a little with every story. I hope it's a long drawn out process; I want this series to go on for years.

They’re smart, sexy, and supernatural. They’re the men and
women of the Otherworld—a realm of witches, ghosts, and
werewolves who live unseen among us. Only now a reckless
killer has torn down the wall, trapping one very human
woman in the supernatural cross fire.
Robyn Peltier moved to Los Angeles after her young
husband’s sudden death, trying to put some distance
between herself and her memories. Though she’s still
grieving, the challenges of her new life as the PR
consultant to Portia Kane—the world’s most famous
celebutante wannabe—can sometimes be amusing, even
distracting. But when her client is gunned down in the
back room of a nightclub, Robyn is suddenly on the run as
the prime suspect in the murder.

And as more bodies pile
up around her, it seems like only Hope Adams, Robyn’s best
friend, and Hope’s somewhat spooky boyfriend Karl are on
Robyn’s side. Hope Adams follows the kinds of stories
whose headlines scream from supermarket checkout lines.
But the difference is that Hope’s stories are even weirder—
and they’re all true.

Though determined to help Robyn,
Hope knows it’s only a matter of time before her friend is
caught.

But it’s not the police Hope is worried about. For
Robyn has gotten herself in the middle of a turf war
between two powerful Otherworld cabals who’ll spill any
amount of blood—human and inhuman—to protect what they
consider theirs for all eternity. And the only way Hope
can keep her friend alive is by letting her enter a world
she’s safer knowing nothing about.