Kerrelyn Sparks
Wanted: Undead or Alive
Avon, $7.99/digital $4.99, Mar. 27, 2012
Phineas McKinney thought New York City was tough, until he was attacked by Malcontents—evil vampires who consider mortals to be snacks. Saved by the good vampires, Phin swore to devote his now undead life to stopping the Malcontents. He’s got his job cut out for him when word comes that their enemy may be hiding in Wyoming. What does a city boy like him know about horses and campfires? Good thing he’s got Brynley Jones with him . . . if only she didn’t hate every vampire on earth.
Bryn believes vampires are seductive and charming, and that makes them dangerous. So she’s more than a little annoyed about teaming up with Phin, even if he is the only bloodsucker able to make her inner wolf purr. But as they hunt down the new leader of the Malcontents, danger threatens . . . and Phineas and Brynley discover a passion that will rock the foundation of their supernatural world.
In Wanted: Undead or Alive, the latest addition to the Love At Stake series, Kerrelyn Sparks gives us the story of Phineas McKinney a.k.a. The Love Doctor in a charming and funny fish-out-of-water story.
Phineas McKinney was a poor kid from the Bronx. To take care of his family, he ended up selling drugs, until the evil Malcontent vampires turned him to use him as a source to supply them with the drugs they needed. Phineas was saved five years ago, and has joined forces with the good Vamps. His life has never been better; he has a fantastic job with McKay Securities that he loves and great friends who really care about him.
Phineas is the new head of security at Romatech, and right now the Vampire Most Wanted is Corky Courant. She needs to be brought before the counsel to answer for crimes against the Vampires. While most of McKay’s employees are scattered around Europe searching for her, Phineas receives a message that Corky might be hiding in Wyoming. He can’t waste time waiting for everyone to return, but what does a city born vampire know about the wilds of Wyoming?
Werewolf Brynley Jones grew up in Wyoming and certainly knows the territory they need to search. She is just the one he needs to help him catch Corky. Brynley knows that first thing you need to do is blend in with the locals.
He hooked his thumbs into the snakeskin belt that sported a huge buffalo-shaped brass buckle. “I’m dressed like a cowboy now. I thought it would be best to fit in—“
“Where? On stage at the Grand Ole Opry?” Brynley moved closer and skimmed her fingertip across his white silk shirt. “Fringe?”
Her gaze lifted to his head. “Oh, God help us. Your hat is...sparkly.”
Brynley also knows that there is only one around the wild Wyoming territory that they are searching, and that is on horseback. But how quick can she teach a city boy how to mount up and ride the trail?
This cowboy stuff wasn’t so hard after all. Brynley would have to stop calling him a city boy. Unfortunately, at that moment his horse decided to leave the path and turn right into the forest.
“What the hell?” He sat up. “Horse! What are you doing?”
Brynley glanced back over her shoulder. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.”
Brynley pulled to a stop. “Steer her back onto the path.”
“There’s no steering wheel!” He looked frantically about as his horse continued to walk into the forest. “How do I put this thing into reverse?”
From Central Park and taxis to national parks and horses, from squirrels and pigeons to bears and elk, how’s a city born vampire supposed to survive a trek through the wilderness, especially when the greatest danger is his feelings for his bristly and beautiful guide. But in the end all we want to know is if a city vampire and a country werewolf can figure out how to make love work as they search the wilderness in this witty adventure.
Lucy Dosch writes book reviews for her blog http://ebookobsessed.com. Her e-reader has turned her love of reading into an obsession. When she is not reading, she likes to spend time with her husband and two daughters.
