You’re a trickster singular, Rachel Morgan

At last, I have returned to Rachel Morgan and The Hollows. Thanks to Malin, I was able to cruise through the first 11 books of the series. I find marathoning books just isn’t the same as marathoning tv. I become more immersed in the world of books than tv, and then I feel hungover and a little put off. I tried to read The Undead Pool back in February, but I just couldn’t get into it. It was all me though. So I put it away until last week. It was every bit as good as I expected it to be. Spoilers below.

As usual, something in Cincinnati is going horribly wrong and it is somehow related to Rachel. Complicating matters more, Rachel is working for Trent while feeling conflicted about where they stand with each other. She has feelings for him and he has feelings for her, but he is about to make a politically and financially advantageous marriage. Rachel’s partnership with Ivy and Jenks is solidly in place, and well oiled.

As the characters have grown, the world they inhabit has become more complicated and unstable. As the series has gone on, the peace between humans and supernaturals has become strained, and tensions between supernatural groups are on the rise. Also on the rise – fanaticism. We’ve seen fanatical humans, fanatical weres, fanatical vampires, and fanatical elves. The re-emergence of elves, the were’s acquisition of the Wolf Focus, and the revelation of Rachel as a day walking demon has disrupted the power balance and groups more interested in their own well being rather than the well being of society at large having been grabbing for power and seeking to eliminate their perceived enemies. As usual, Rachel lands firmly in the camp of enemy of narrow interests.

By the end of the book, there are some major shifts in relationships – mostly the romance between Trent and Rachel and the sense of unfinished business between Rachel and Ivy and Rachel and Newt. As we go into the last book, there are a lot of things unsettled and the instability created by the emergent elves and strengthened weres seems like it could tip all of society into chaos. I’m probably not going to be able to wait very much longer before I read the final book, but I’ll hold out as long as I can and savor the unknowns.