Just finished Dancing With Werewolves by Carole Nelson Douglas. Keeping in mind that I’m a fan of the author’s earlier series that fleshed out Irene Adler from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “A Scandal in Bohemia,” let’s look at the first Delilah Street novel.
In the world of Delilah Street, ex-investigative reporter, the new millenium brought with it the revelation that vampires, werewolves and everything else that goes bump in the night is real and wants to live in more or less plain sight among us.
Delilah Street has recently relocated from Witchita to Las Vegas in search of a look-alike actress featured as the latest murder victim on a crime show. Along the way she meets Ric Montoya, ex-FBI corpse-dowser, and Hector Nightwine – the eccentric producer of the series in which Delilah’s double was seen. She and Montoya discover murder victims from the 1940s, when Las Vegas was in the throws of a gang war between the vampires and the now-victorious werewolves.
While trying to solve the mystery of the murdered young couple, Delilah runs afoul of the werewolf kingpin and a number of other rather frightening people.
While I enjoy the world and the characters, I found the plot structure unusual, if intriguing. In the tradition of today’s serial fiction, the author wraps up some mysteries and leaves others to be solved later in the series. What I found so unusual was the author’s choice in which mysteries to solve (in part or in whole) and which to leave for later. While I certainly enjoyed this book on its own, I find myself wondering if the next book in the series will hold the solution to one of our major mysteries or if I will be strung along throughout the whole series before finding a satisfactory solution.
That said, the book is worth picking up if you like urban fantasy and vintage clothing and culture. The characters and the world will keep you enthralled. However, I strongly recommend having the sequel, Brimstone Kiss, at hand before you begin Dancing With Werewolves. I personally can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.
Happy reading,
Phantastic Student
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