Living with the Dead (Women of the Otherworld, Book 9) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: chaos vibes, half demon, Portia Kane, Robyn Peltier, Detective Findlay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Armstrong's newest will be greeted with warm enthusiasm by fans awaiting the return of the half-demon Hope Adams and her werewolf boyfriend, Karl Marsten. Hope's friend Robyn is mourning the recent murder of her good Samaritan husband, Damon, and trying to tolerate her job as a PR representative for Portia Kane, a tabloid celebutante. But when Portia is shot and Robyn becomes the prime suspect, she flees, only to find herself inexplicably in the middle of the supernatural world Hope has been trying to shield her from. Stalked by a psychopathic clairvoyant and tracked by the cop, John Findley, who happens to see dead people, Robyn is way out of her league. Armstrong's newest is definitely more accessible as a stand-alone than her previous ones, but still, without having read the rest of the series, it's a bit confusing. The characters are great: Adele is a very disturbing villain and Robyn's grief over the loss of her husband is touching. The conclusion, however, is less than satisfying, clearly setting up the next entry in the series. New readers would do better starting off with earlier books. (Oct. 28)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Armstrong makes a strong return, and fans of Personal Demon will be delighted to travel with Karl, the jewel thief werewolf, and Hope, the Expisco half-demon, as they race to help Hope's friend Robyn, a human framed for a murder she didn't commit and on the run from the cops and the villain who fears she'll expose the paranormal races of the Otherworld. As Armstrong readers have come to expect, this book is balanced between likable characters and the creepy evil that they fight, all wrapped together with nonstop, edge-of-your-seat action. There is only a faint touch of romance here; rather, the novel features sexually explicit themes and violence, including the mistreatment of minors and the disabled by the villain. Recommended for public libraries where urban fantasy is popular. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/08.]—Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553806645
• ISBN-13: 978-0553806649
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 9 in The Women of the Otherworld Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars love the series, but not this one...., November 5, 2008

By	Fiction_Fan (USA) - See all my reviews

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Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors. But "Living with the Dead" makes me wonder if her series has jumped the shark. Too many characters. Too many shifting P.O.V.S. Too much confusion all around. I like twists and turns, but I found myself working too hard to keep up for too little pay off in the end.

I liked the Robyn character and thought her plight was well written, but I didn't feel like I got to know her well enough because just when things got juicy, we were shuttled off into someone else's mind. I also missed the sensuality of the earlier novels in this series. I'll certainly try Ms. Armstrong's next story, but I hope the author returns to using only one or two POVs per story and focuses on a strong but understandable plot.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not entirely successful, October 31, 2008

By	Cheryl Hafer (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

I have been a Kelley Armstrong fan for years and always finish the newest book looking forward to the next one. Her characters are interesting, quirky, and believable and her plotting is strong. While followers of her series will enjoy the book, with its focus on Hope and Karl, I wouldn't recommend it to new readers.

The multiple points of view aren't entirely successful, the villian isn't entirely believable in her own voice (this would be an instance where distance would have been a better choice) and there are too many characters who tell rather than show. Finally, while I appreciate an author who can disorient me with unexpected but entirely plausible last minute characters, it works better if keeping the reader off balance is part of the complete reading experience rather than a one-off.

This is not a bad book at all, but any of the other Women of the Otherworld books would be a better entry point for this series.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still going strong after nine books!, November 6, 2008

By	Jackie Ballway - See all my reviews

Kelley Armstrong was one of the first Urban Fantasy authors I read as an adult. Bitten made me fall in love with the characters, the world, and caused me to drool all over myself, waiting for more.

As her series has progressed different narrators have been introduced, but she's stayed mostly in the first person. Living with the Dead (Women of the Otherworld, Book 9) is the first one I can think of where it is completely third person. With multiple, multiple narrators. I normally can't stand it when the author does that, but Kelley managed a smooth transition from narrator to narrator even though they had such differing personalities.

There was Hope, my favorite half-demon, whose role was helping Robyn, the completely human, normal narrator the story focused on while being pursued by Detective Finn, a man who sees ghosts but doesn't quite know why. Of course where there's Hope there's Karl, the most fascinating werewolf second only to Clay. I've loved Karl since he helped Elena escape during Bitten while remaining unapologetic. Also joining the ranks were Colm and Adele, two clairvoyants whose relationship and family life made the guys from Deliverance look almost normal.

The negative of this barrage of voices culminated in the ending. Though the brunt of the story focused on Robyn, a story arc was created for Hope and Karl and their strained relationship. I'll admit I'm becoming a sex fiend when it comes to my books, so the fact that there wasn't any lovin' depicted did rankle a bit, but the romance Armstrong infused helped fill the hole. Hope and Karl's relationship was brought to a new level in this installment and you're allowed into Karl's heart more while secretly wanting to throw Hope against a wall and shake her while yelling, "For the love of God woman, how blind can you be??" But the back and forth between the two arcs didn't allow the reader to fully connect with any of the speakers.

Living with the Dead introduced a few new characters (Robyn and Finn) that should be interesting to explore and pushed forward the Hope/Karl arc. I'm left chewing my nails, wondering what effect this book is going to have on the Otherworld and its inhabitants, and if we'll be allowed to see it to the end.