Some wounds take time to heal...and some scars never fade.
Rachel Morgan, kick-ass witch and bounty hunter, has taken her fair share of hits and has broken lines she swore she would never cross. But when her lover was murdered, it left a deeper wound than Rachel ever imagined, and now she won't rest until his death is solved...and avenged. Whatever the cost.
Yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and when a new predator moves to the apex of the Inderlander food chain, Rachel's past comes back to haunt her.
Literally.
WHITE WITCH is Book 7 in Harrison's excellent Hollows series and doesn't disappoint, even at a hardcover price in a paperback economy. This story sees the return of two characters from previous short stories, as well as some much-needed closure on Kisten's death. As much as I miss his character, I agree that his death was Something That Had To Happen in order for Rachel and the series to move forward. And, while I also think Harrison handled the death and its aftermath as respectfully and succinctly as possible, I'm relieved to have the whole thing behind us now, and to see the focus of the stories moving away from it and back to Rachel.
There are two things that really keep me coming back to this series: character--more specifically, the secondary characters--and plot. Yes, Rachel is great. She's a skillfully developed main character, with depth, who demonstrates real growth with each story while still managing to get herself into incredibly entertaining amounts of trouble. But it's all the secondary characters whom I've really fallen in love with: Jenks, Ivy, Kisten (*crai*), Al (Al!!), Trent, Glenn, David...I could keep going. Harrison really excels at bringing the supporting cast to life, deftly weaving their own character development and story arcs throughout the series. And, in my opinion, her plotting is some of the best in the genre. You can look at something seven books in and see threads of it in book one. The first five books grew like vines on a trellis, individual plots and sub-plots twisting and reaching and tangling up the latticework and then suddenly they reached the apex and fused into a complex and seamless tapestry of brilliantly interconnected lives where there were no "good" guys or "bad" guys, just people who were forced into hard decisions, each doing what they thought was right. It left me breathless.
We see WHITE WITCH laying more groundwork for future stories--there is the sense that Rachel is headed into deeper waters, though we can't quite see them on the horizon just yet. This book has a heavy focus on the romantic choices she's made and coaxes some solid growth and character development from her. I can't believe I'm saying this, but...there just might be hope for Rachel yet. :) Go! Buy! Love!
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