Kitty's Big Trouble (Kitty Norville, Book 9) [Mass Market Paperback]

Carrie Vaughn (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 28, 2011

Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever.  Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural?  She's got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman.  Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter.

But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia.  That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play.  And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vaughn delivers a solid ninth Kitty Norville adventure (after Kitty Goes to War) for the werewolf talk radio personality's faithful fans. The opening quest to prove that General Sherman was a werewolf proves little more than a perfunctory appetizer to the real plot. A powerful vampire summons Kitty to San Francisco to keep a powerful artifact out of the hands of returning villain Roman. As Kitty, hubby Ben, and Ben's cousin Cormac tangle with preternatural creatures and Chinese gods, Vaughn keeps a good balance between upping the ante and turning Kitty and company into caricatures of action heroes. This refreshing froth of light entertainment avoids werewolf dominance clichés and obvious racial stereotypes in favor of communication, action, and adorable old-married-couple sweetness. (July)

Review

Praise for the Kitty Norville books:

“Enough excitement, astonishment, pathos, and victory to satisfy any reader.”
--Charlaine Harris on Kitty and the Midnight Hour

“Fresh, hip, fantastic—a real treat!”
--L.A. Banks on Kitty and the Midnight Hour

“Vaughn’s deft touch at characterization and plot development has made this series hugely entertaining and not to be missed!”
--Romantic Times Book Reviews

“Vaughn's top-notch paranormal series is as strong as ever.  Readers of Kim Harrison's ‘Hollows’ series and Jim Butcher's ‘Dresden Files’ will appreciate Kitty's sarcastic wit, ingenuity, and independence.”
--Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; Original edition (June 28, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780765365651
• ISBN-13: 978-0765365651
• ASIN: 0765365650
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in California, but grew up all over the country, a bona fide Air Force Brat. I currently live in Colorado, with my miniature American Eskimo dog, Lily. I have a Masters in English Lit, love to travel, love movies, plays, music, just about anything, and am known to occasionally pick up a rapier.

I've never been a DJ, but I love writing about one.

Here's my website: www.carrievaughn.com

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#78 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#94 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#78 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#94 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Kitty's trip to San Francisco June 28, 2011

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Possible alternate titles: "Kitty Goes To San Francisco" and "Kitty Goes to Chinatown."

So guess where the ever-inquisitive Kitty Norville goes in "Kitty's Big Trouble," a shadowy, frantic scrabble for ancient magical artifacts and even more ancient Chinese deities. The beginning chapters feel rather disconnected from the rest of the story, but once the gang makes it to San Francisco the storyline becomes much smoother.

Kitty begins investigating historical figures --General Sherman, Wyatt Earp -- who may have had connections to the supernatural. And after a nasty encounter with a long-starved vampire, she's left with a coin necklace that may be connected to Roman. Unfortunately, not a lot of vampires know what it is, so she's sent off to find Anastasia in San Francisco.

However, Anastasia is more concerned with the Dragon's Pearl, a priceless artifact that Roman wants so he can expand his army exponentially. Kitty, Ben and the Ameliafied Cormac agree to help her find it before Roman does, and they soon discover that this is a dangerous proposition -- but they may have some allies even more powerful than vampires.

As an urban fantasy, "Kitty's Big Trouble" is solid but not the best of the series. It's a dark, grimy, action-packed story that immerses Kitty even more into the world, but it strays pretty far from Kitty's usual stomping grounds and cast. And there are some aspects of the plot -- Kitty's broken bone, the half-starved vampire -- that feel like they should have been more significant than they were.

However, the story gets much smoother once Kitty and Co. make it to Frisco, forming a tight rope of frenetic action and supernatural drama, but with some lighter moments (Cormac's "I escaped Alcatraz" shirt). And Vaughn splashes it liberally with Chinese folklore and religion, including a nine-tailed fox and a mysterious dude with a staff. I let a fangirl squeal when I read his name. And she doesn't wuss out on the religious implications of Chinese "gods" being real.

It's also interesting to see Kitty delving into the "hidden history," when she isn't showing her iron-hard determination to stop Roman. Without revealing too much, her determination means that she's now one of Roman's top enemies, and is squarely in the middle of the Long Game.

Vaughn also reveals a lot more about the beautiful, icy Anastasia's past -- If you didn't like her already, you will now -- and adds in the motherly Xiwangmu and the adorably quirky Sun Wukong. Here's hoping we'll see them again. However... Grace is ANNOYING. She whines and complains constantly about everything, and keeps bleating about how she didn't expect all this. Just shut up.

But despite a rocky beginning and an annoying human character, "Kitty's Big Trouble" is a decent addition to this series -- not perfect, but enjoyable and important to the story arc.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Missing the tension June 28, 2011

By Jen TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

It's road trip time for Kitty Norville. Remember the vampire Anastasia from Kitty's House of Horrors? She's back and she's asking Kitty to come to San Francisco to retrieve an object of great power. Evil and super-old vampire Roman is after it too, so Kitty hits the road with Ben and Cormac, headed to the west coast.

The object, which Anastasia calls "the pearl" is hidden in the underground tunnels of Chinatown. And as our group of heroes goes searching for it, they get wrapped up in some ancient Chinese mythology. Kitty realizes, once again, how much she still doesn't know about the supernatural world. But even in the face of gods, she holds on to her fighting spirit and struggles to do the right thing, while protecting the two people she cares most about.

I suppose it sounds good at face value, but I felt unengaged for most of the book. Yes, there was a little danger, but I guess the key word here is little. There was virtually no tension for me to latch on to. I mean, the series has completely lost anything resembling a romantic or sexual tension. Ben is a nice guy; he loves Kitty; she loves him; blah, blah, blah. Cormac is there as some bizarre, possessed, third-wheel/bodyguard. Any excitement about any of them is long gone, as Vaughn has clearly made the Kitty/Ben pairing permanent and unshakeable.

There is also no personal investment in the story arc. Kitty is doing Anastasia a favor. Yeah, it has greater implications, but the entire mission feels removed from Kitty's life. It's not like Vaughn will kill off Kitty, Cormac or Ben ... and if she would have killed off Anastastia, Henry, Grace or Sun, I can't say I would have cared. So that leaves me... well... uninvested.

It wasn't a bad book. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It just kind of felt like a bridge to intensify the conflict between Kitty and Roman. 3 1/2 stars.

*ARC Provided by Tor Books

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars more than a little disappointed July 1, 2011

By L. Ashmore

Format:Mass Market Paperback

After the poignant and emotional "Goes to War", and the edge-of-your-seat horror of "House of Horrors", I was really looking forward to this one. I've loved this series from the beginning and was really looking forward to finding more about Roman and his plans. (I listened to the audio version, so please pardon the misspelling of any character names. I want to say that Margarete Gavin did an AWESOME job as narrator, as always!)

This really didn't live up to my expectations. Kitty didn't know what she was doing, why she was doing it, and her interactions with the new characters seemed really, really off. For example, her introduction to Sun. Injured or not, the Kitty I know would have grilled the guy at least long enough to make even the mellow grinning (spoiler spoiler spoiler) exasperated! The Dodge City/Wyatt Earp interlude went nowhere (surely it wasn't just about a coin and a bad pun?), the Sherman subplot was anticlimactic, Anastassia's back story was frankly something I expect to see in teenage angst fanfic (as in, how much bad stuff can you pile on a woman). And the endless scenes in the underground tunnels reminded me of a D&D dungeon crawl. (Cue scary monster #6. Encounter pit trap. Bunk down for the night to recover hit points. Roll initiative!) Maybe I'm just sore because I don't like Quest for the Uber-Powerful Magic Object plots anymore (too predictable, and there was no unique twist in this one), but this really didn't hold up to the previous books in the series. Even Roman and his actions seemed strangely inconsistent. I wanted to hear more about the new vamp (Harry, I think?) and he kinda vanished off the scene without a word. As for the potential love triangle, there are only bare whiffs of it in this novel. There's just enough to hint that potential Cormac/Kitty isn't over yet- and that Ben will have to die for it to happen. I like Ben. :( Strangely, the character I sympathized most with was the reluctant witch, Grace.

I can accept that there needed to be a filler book to introduce key plot elements for future stories. This book does a lot of setting up and foreshadowing and whatnot, but it's just kinda...meh. There's some very welcome bits of humor in there (especially the one involving Power Bars, which really cracked me up). Not BAD, just far from the tension and drama and quick pacing of her previous books in the series. I still have high hopes for the next book. 2 1/2 stars.