Undead and Unreturnable (Queen Betsy, Book 4) (Berkley Sensation) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "That's just so depressing," my best friend, Jessica Watkins, observed..." (more)
Key Phrases: vampire queen, Baby Jon, Driveway Killer, Eric Sinclair (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Davidson's latest Undead romp, Betsy Taylor, Queen of the Vampires, is busy planning her wedding, babysitting for her new little brother, and feeding the feral vampire who crochets in the basement of the mansion where she writes a "Dear Betsy" column for a new vampire newsletter. Hunky Nick, a cop from her past, is heading up the task force to find the Driveway Killer, who targets women who look like Betsy. Betsy's best friend, Jessica, starts going out with Nick, and Betsy, who can get into enough trouble on her own, may wind up in over her head with the help of her crazy sister, the ghost of a Driveway Killer victim, and a cute college boy. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Queen of the Vampires Betsy Taylor is in the middle of planning the perfect wedding to drop-dead gorgeous vamp Eric Sinclair. But all is not bouquets and bridal showers-Betsy is plagued by ghosts who demand her help in rectifying their past mistakes, and a serial killer is on the loose. With his victims all being tall, blond women, Betsy fits the profile exactly.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Sensation (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425210812
• ISBN-13: 978-0425210819
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Queen Betsy ("Undead") Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and interesting as usual, but I wanted more..., November 4, 2005

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Undead and Unreturnable (Queen Besty, Book 4) (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series and I look forward to all of the installments. Her tongue-in-cheek approach to vampires is priceless. I also love the characters, especially Betsy, Jessica, Sinclair, Tina and Marc. And the bantering that goes on between them is hilarious to the max. Undead and Unreturnable is another gem as far as the quick-witted bantering and some character development are concerned; however, the plot is so thin it is almost non-existent. Betsy has quite a busy schedule. She is planning a traditional wedding to her consort and reluctant groom, the dark, gorgeous and stylish Sinclair, is getting ready for Christmas, agrees to babysit her newborn baby brother, and tries to keep her eye on her devil's spawn sister Laura. And now she has to worry about a serial killer preying on short-haired blondes with light eyes as well. She has to be careful, for she fits that description, but she also has to find the killer after one of his victims' ghost bothers Betsy to no end. There are various fun moments throughout the novel.

This novel, like all recent Davidson books, is disappointingly short, not much longer than an outline. The serial killer plot is very underdeveloped and is resorted in a quick, unsatisfactory way. The novel consists more of lighthearted bantering between Betsy, Sinclair and Jessica. Tina and Marc appear in a few scenes and nothing more. If anything, this novel is more centered on Betsy and Sinclair's relationship. I like that Davidson develops their relationship further in this offering, but sometimes the book in general seems chopped up and uneven. There is also some development centered on Laura, Betsy's sister, and how she has become all the creepier since Undead and Unappreciated. There is also a rather dark scene with Sinclair and Betsy that I like because it adds character depth and growth into the mix, no matter how fleeting the aforementioned character depth and growth may have been though. The characters remain great. I love self-centered Betsy, the darkly gorgeous Sinclair and the quick-witted Jessica. The vampire/librarian from previous MJD vampire novellas called Marjorie shows promise in this series and so does former Blade Warrior Jon and his suspicious interest in Betsy's life story. I guess what I'm saying is that there are some good, substantial moments in this short, light and at times lopsided continuation of the series. The novel is without a doubt hilarious. I laughed out loud as I read the novel, so Davidson's abilities with creating quips in her dialogues are still intact. And I know that she is still the same talented storyteller who wrote gems like Love's Prisoner and Undead and Unwed and I hope she will go back to that style of writing. She does leave some interesting cliffhangers for future offerings. I only hope that she will take her time in creating something more substantial and less abrupt next time.

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Running Out of Patience, November 18, 2005

By	Robert I. Katz (Port Jefferson, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Undead and Unreturnable (Queen Besty, Book 4) (Hardcover)

Okay, I said I wouldn't, but I saw it at my local Border's and I spent the money. It's better than the last but that's not saying a lot. Judging from how quickly this one came out and the length of the two most recent books in the series, I remain convinced that Undead and Unappreciated and Undead and Unreturnable were meant to be one book, but got split up into two short, unsatisfactory pieces for monetary reasons. In this book, a little more happens, and a number of set-ups were put in place for future books: Sinclair's declaration that Betsy can have a baby if a living human is the father. Sinclair's inability to read Betsy's thoughts becomes an issue, as the Book of the Dead says that he should be able to. Laura's powers grow, and she seems more and more comfortable with the Devilish side of her make-up. This book is as poorly edited as the last. At one point, Betsy is riding in a car with Laura and a ghost. Laura makes a comment about being dead...except that she's not dead. Presumably the ghost was meant to have this line. Oh, well, it's still fun, and it's hard to blame an author who's finally hit it big, but in the end, she'll sell more if she keeps her fans happy, and stuff like this just won't do it for very long.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not One Of Her Best, June 28, 2006

By	Samantha L. Sayre (WV United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not going to write a plot summary. Amazon provides that and too many other reviewers do also. This was not one of her best in this series. I really enjoy this series but I'm not sure if she meant to have it together with another book and the publisher split it or she wasn't on her game or what it was. This book rambled on and really didn't have a plot. The serial killer plot was there the whole book but they really weren't working on it. It was mostly Betsy talking to Jon or Eric about nothing. I wouldn't recommend this book except to get to the next one. I would wait and hope that she puts a bunch of the books together then this one won't be so noticeably short.