Necromancer. Bounty hunter. Killer.
Dante Valentine has been all three in her life. But in the beginning, she was a Necromancer for hire. And while she was choosy about her jobs, there were just some she couldn't turn down. Like when the Devil showed up at the door and offered her a deal. Her life - in exchange for the capture and elimination of a renegade demon. But how do you kill something that can't die?
Dante Valentine is a bounty hunter and a Necromance - she can invoke the spirits of the dead briefly for the purpose of communication. She's the best in the world at what she does, which puts her at the top of Lucifer's list when he needs a rogue demon tracked down. Lucifer sends his Right Hand, the demon Japhrimel, to bring Dante to Hell for the purpose of hiring her on for the job. Dante has a smart mouth, a little too much bravado, and a troubled past. She's also honorable, loves her friends, and can't see the sense in discriminating against a demon - or letting anyone else do so. The consequences of that shape the rest of her life.
These five books remind me a little bit of Hamilton's Anita Blake series. The stories are tense, beautifully plotted and fast-paced. Dante makes things so much harder than they have to be. She even realizes she's doing it but she just can't seem to help it sometimes. This series also benefits from a firm overall plan with a definite end that ties everything together. It's not an endless "The Adventures of Dante" sort of thing. The five books flow together beautifully when read as a single narrative.
It's not your typical Urban Fantasy story with lots of clichées and meaningless romance (not that I don't enjoy those storys too, from time to time). It's the story itself that matters here and the characters and their development. Their feelings, their hopes, their despair, their pain and their relationships/friendship.
Plot. Counterplot. Betrayal. Intrigue. When you’re working for the Devil, it’s all par for the course. You just have to live with it. Right?
Wrong. When you’re Danny Valentine and the Devil double-crosses you one too many times, there’s only one thing to do.
Fight back. No matter how hopeless it is. No matter how suicidal it is. No matter how far the game is rigged in the Devil’s favor.
Welcome to Hell.
The books in the set are Working for the Devil, Dead Man Rising, The Devil's Right Hand, Saint City Sinners, and To Hell and Back.
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