Another One Bites the Dust [Import] [Paperback]

Jennifer Rardin (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841496391
• ISBN-13: 978-1841496399
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,098,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Rardin was born in Evansville, Indiana on April 28, 1965. Her mom told her almost every year what crappy weather it had been that day. However she liked to think of her birthday as the first frost-free date for her planting area. (See what happens when you grow up around farmers? Scary, huh?)

After a youth spent up to her eyeballs in fairy tales, Nordic myths and supernatural legends she made the solid and practical decision to go to college and major in English. After which she never really held a well paying job until Jaz Parks came along! Which is why her kids loved to sing that song to her from the musical "Avenue Q." The one that begins with the line, "What do you do with a B.A. in English?"

Once she figured out the answer to that question, she wrote Once Bitten, Twice Shy. She spent most of her adult life in an old farmhouse along with her husband and two teenagers. No pets since the cat died, but the birds seem to appreciate his absence. They come to feast at the feeders where she used to write on the back porch in the cool of the morning. A lovely tribute to a wonderful writer.

Jennifer died suddenly at home in September 2010, just after finishing the last Jaz Parks novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars World War Jaz, February 3, 2008

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Another One Bites the Dust (Jaz Parks, Book 2) (Paperback)

Ever since the Anita Blake series turned into bad porn, I've been hunting for a good urban fantasy series, with plenty of action, vampires and a likable yet tough female lead.

Well, I may have found what I'm looking for, in Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Parks. Her second novel "Another One Bites the Dust" has plenty of guns, gore, evil vampires and brewing world wars, but Rardin doesn't lost her grip on the inner intricacies of the characters, or the tongue-in-cheek way they do their jobs.

New target for the team: a Chinese vampire and his acrobat troupe, who are performing at the Corpus Christi Winter Festival. Even worse, he stole Bergman's invincible "dragon armour."

So while Jaz struggles with the prospect of public belly-dancing, she finds herself facing a crabby undercover team, soul-devouring reavers, religious fanatics, and a luxury yacht full of vampires consulting with Chinese generals. As if that wasn't bad enough, Jaz is being haunted by nightmares about her fiance and brother, which always end with her almost getting killed -- for real.

And it's getting progressively more dangerous to poke around the acrobats and their bosses, especially when Jaz finds that reavers are only called in for one thing -- to start world wars. The armour, reavers, and acrobats are all wound up in an international conspiracy -- and to stop the big bads, Jaz will need all her team's technical and supernatural skill.

That stiletto boot with knife in strap sort of suggests that this is some sort of vampire-slaying chick-lit. That's rather deceptive, because "Another One Bites the Dust" has none of that.

In fact, it's sort of a vampire-slaying secret-agent story, complete with dress-ups, romantic tension, lots of gory death and torn-up bodies, and a gloriously explosive, kinetic final chase scene that is worthy of an action movie. Rardin weaves in some enjoyably comic moments and entertaining dialogue ("It sounds like someone's seesawing dental floss inside her nose!" "Are you sure she's not our target?").

But she balances out the fast-bang action and international conspiracies with a healthy dose of Team Jaz exploration. Since all the good guys are crammed into a largish RV, we get to see how these guys operate when they're forced to spend a lot of time living together-- and it's a credit to Rardin that she keeps things from ever turning sitcommy. Blech.

But none of this would matter if Jaz weren't a likable, tough, believable heroine... and she is. She's smart, funny, a little too reckless, and acutely attached to all of her coworkers. But this time, she's forced to deal with her unresolved, guilt-riddled feelings about the death of her fiancee, and the source of her suicidal nightmares.

And her team is no less likable -- Vayl is one hot gypsy vampire, though I'm glad the smoldering tension between him and Jaz doesn't overwhelm the storyline. Cole, Bergman and Cassandra add their own quirky, sometimes dramatic edge to the story, and we get some very nasty villains, including a "Dragon Lady" vampire and a bunch of ravenous three-eyed reavers.

"Another One Bites the Dust" is a solid, enjoyable story for anyone who likes their vampire stories fast and witty, and their heroines strong and likable. Definitely an author to watch.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Sequel, February 12, 2008

By 

Lesley70 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another One Bites the Dust (Jaz Parks, Book 2) (Paperback)

Jaz and Vayl's latest mission finds them pursuing stolen biotechnology, and saving the world...again. :) Also along for the ride are Cole, Bergman and Cassandra. The group goes undercover at the Corpus Christi Winter festival - fighting reavers, human extremists and dragons. Jaz is still dealing with her unresolved issues and once more the ultimate villain (Samos) proves to be elusive.

The thing I adore about this series is the relationship between Jaz and Vayl. They have great chemistry together, but the situation doesn't feel forced or rushed. They are still having misunderstandings, very realistic as he's a vampire and is over 300 years old. At certain points in the book Jaz is somewhat self-involved, and thus there's a delay between Vayl's actions and her grasping what he's about. Unfortunately by the time she's up to speed, he's brooding. It's realistic though, because she's still dealing with the death of her fiance. She's trying to resolve the issues in her sleep, so you have to pick up the cues when surreal stuff starts happening, as she doesn't always realize she's dreaming. Very well written.

The dialogue is again snippy, sarcastic, witty and self-depracating and I find Jaz's internal commentary hilarious. The banter between the characters means you are racing through the pages whilst at the same time not wanting it to end. There are so many quips to choose from.

"Something was stuck in my throat. If I was a guy, I'd have sworn they were my testicles."

My favourite is the 'snippy' comment on p59 of the UK issue. Just like book 1 the story is peppered with moments that make you laugh, wince and surprise you. And for those of you who've read book 1 and remember the hula dancing quote, p3 'belly dancing'. nuff said.

We learn more about the other members of the team in this book. Especially Bergman and Cassandra. Though it's not necessarily in what they say, but more in their behaviour and actions towards each other. There's a definite friction between them, which makes for some snappy dialogue. He's very much of the technological and Cassandra is of the magical.

There are also things left unresolved here that I think it will be important in upcoming books. Especially Cassandra's vision. Of some concern is that it's hinted Jaz might be developing new powers. Always a bit of a worry in urban fantasy that your hero/heroine is going to be 'The One' and become super-powerful and boring. But that's a concern for a future book.

Also available:-
Book 1 - Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Book 3 - Biting the Bullet

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent urban fantasy mystery, December 8, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Another One Bites the Dust (Jaz Parks, Book 2) (Paperback)

After defeating an ancient demon in ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY, CIA field operative Jaz Parks and her vampire partner Vayl have forged a special squad with their new associates they met on the last case. Millennium old Cassandra the seer, technological genius Bergman, and sensitive Cole have joined Jaz and Vayl in hunting down evil doers.

Their current assignment is to prevent an invincible Chinese vampire, Chien-Lung from starting WW III. Bergman is especially sensitive to this malevolent being as Chien stole one of his gizmos from the army's White Sands Missile Range, a body armor that has made him unbeatable when combined with his supernatural abilities. Finding this cold blooded killer will not be easy as they also must dispatch the soul stealing Reavers who want to snack on the team members especially Jaz while she goes undercover as a belly dancer in Corpus Christie. They also know somehow malevolent vampire Edward "The Raptor" Samos, who believe he should rule the world, is somewhere in the mix

The second Jaz urban fantasy mystery thriller is an exciting tale that grips the audience from the onset. The heroine forges her new team into a cohesive fighting and bickering until, seeks to defeat the evil ones, belly dances at a winter festival and learns more about her relationship as Vayl's avhar than she wants to know. With romance, espionage, and mystery enhancing the fantasy, sub-genre fans will appreciate the adventures and missteps of Jaz and her mates.

Harriet Klausner