THE BRIDE WORE BLACK LEATHER, SIMON GREEN

This is the last of the NIGHTSIDE series by Simon Green, and I hate to disappoint anyone with spoilers.  But we're starting off with the great characters JOHN TAYLOR and his now girl-pal SUSIE SHOTGUN.  They've had a troubled relationship--she's otherwise known as "Oh God it's her, run," and "Just go ahead and shoot yourself, it will be easier." Quite damaged,but slowly making some changes.  JOHN TAYLOR is making some changes, too--he has a new job description now which I absolutely cannot tell you about.

Just get the first one in the series, SOMETHING FROM THE NIGHTSIDE and then start there. It can get really dark at times in this series, but GREEN really balances that with humor. I will say that GREEN makes one wonderful pun. JOHN TAYLOR is a investigator working in the Nightside, and he has a special talent. He can see where anyone is when he opens his third eye, his "private eye." Lovely.

Like most other things in the Nightside, this costs almost too much each time he uses it.  He can see others, but use of his power allows others to see and find him. Neat conundrum.

KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON, by Carrie Vaughn

New fantasy favorite! Carrie Vaughn's heroine is a werewolf, Kitty Norville, who has her own radio talk show. The Midnight Hour takes on the world where werewolves and vampires have just come out of the closet. Kitty gets subpoenaed to testify before a Senate committee whose vicious chair, Senator Duke, seems more interested in persecution than intelligent discourse.

Two things about this series intrigue me. The werewolf and vampire conditions are caused by infectious diseases. Researchers from the NIH and CDC, some unscrupulous, launch investigations to uncover the biological sources of the rapid healing and immortality of these monsters, as Kitty freely labels herself.

But werewolves are not all ravening creatures. Carrie Vaughn explores actual wolf pack dynamics and concludes that for every snarling alpha, there are twelve whose only desire is to submit to the leader. Kitty is one such beta, whose Wolf interior constantly tells her to be quiet, make herself small. No eye contact, no smiling because she might show her teeth--all these show cooperation and keep her safe within the pack. Unfortunately, she's had to leave her pack, which unsettles her. Living alone, she's in charge only with her talk show, dark in the night. She's coping with a solitary life, but submits to others in authority--such as Alette, the Vampire Mistress of Washington, DC

Psychics, dangerous wild Fae, scandal-mongering reporters, and a sexy Brazilian were-panther fill out the roster for a satisfying read. An entertaining bonus short story about a demon-infested band which visits the talk show ends the tale.