Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files

Dying Bites is a book that will keep you guessing from start to finish. Barant does a great job building an alternative universe - a what if world where the question is what would the world be like if humans were in the minority and vamps and weres the majority?

Jace Valchek, is an FBI profiler who specializes in serial killers and mentally imbalanced criminals. As the book opens, Jace believes that she is in a tequila-induced dream where her boss from the FBI is transferring her to a new assignment. Only too late does she realize she's not dreaming and that she's been moved to a parallel universe that is almost identical to her own, with one big difference. This world is inhabited by a mix of vampires, werewolves, and golems (basically magically animated people-shaped bags of sand). Humans make up less than one percent of the world's population and they are slowly on the decline.

The NSA (National Security Association) made up of vamps and weres need Jace's help to catch a human sociopath that is on a bizarre killing spree. The head of the NSA, David Cassius, makes a deal with Jace: bring this human serial killer to justice, and she can return back to her own world. Given little choice as she's stuck in this new world until Cassius returns her, Jace accepts the assignment. What she doesn't count on is the secrecy surrounding the case she is working on and the NSA's desire to withhold certain information from her that would put werewolves and vampires in a different light. She also begins to find herself almost, but not quite, sympathizing with the killer. He is, afterall, a human. Jace has to keep an open mind and look at all of the angles of the case in order to figure out what the killer's next move will be and if she really wants to stop him.

Barant does an excellent job introducing a whole new world where vampires make up the majority of the population and humans have to form terrorist groups to survive. She doesn't try to re-invent the way we know werewolves and vampires; she gives us a good picture of how these beings would live in our modern day society. The plot is well paced and there is lots of good banter between the characters.

The problem I had with this book is the main character. I just didn't like Jace. She comes across as an alpha female type that lets her mouth get her into trouble more often than not. She's abrasive and sarcastic. Usually I like a snarky heroine, but they usually have something else personality-wise that redeems them and makes you like them anyway. Not Jace. She's just a b!tch. I never really could warm up to her.

The other thing that bugged me was the whole premise of yanking Jace into a paralell universe to help solve a crime. The reason for needing her help is lame and you can't help but wonder what the real motive is. Jace begins to wonder the same thing though, so maybe it's supposed to be part of the whole set up.

Despite a couple of drawbacks, I am intrigued by the whole concept. The story itself was intriguing and very unpredictable. Several times I found myself thinking, 'I never saw that coming'. There are so many twists and turns you will think you are running through a corn maze. I am curious enough to want to see where this series goes. I will more than likely pick up the next book in the series when it comes out.

I was torn with the 3 or 4 stars on this one...I enjoyed it, but I found it took me quite a while to get through it. With the great reviews i was eager to get it read, but didn't find it could hold my interest past 2 or 3 chapters a night. I will definately stick with the series, as I got a kick out of the main character, and liked the new idea with an alternate world to her own, but I felt a bit disconected from the characters.

Ah, another flawed, but marvelous heroine! Jace Valchek has my total respect and admiration. She could totally hold her own with the likes of Anita Blake, Anna Strong, Harry Dresden or any of those other great, anti-heroes I love so much.

This book was a fantastic read. It was smart, original and laugh-out-loud funny. This book has some of the best lines EVER and Jace should win a medal for the most original insults ever delivered by a fictional character. Her barbs directed at her partner, Charlie, are sheer genius.

All I can say is this is definitely a must read for urban fantasy lovers and maybe ever the paranormal romance set. While there isn't a whole lot of "romance" there is romantic and sexual tension that is a lot of fun.

Just get this book and read it....it is GREAT!

I thought this was a very good start to this series. The main character is funny, witty, smart, and very cool under pressure. I felt sorry for her for many reasons, but if I was her I would be very angry if I kept getting strung along like she is by her new boss, he never gives her all the details and I get the feeling he doesn’t have any intention on sending her back home. I love DD Barant’s spin on the whole vampire, golems, magic and werewolf’s thing, I like how the books world major events such as World War One and Two is similar yet different to are world in this novel. I like how it’s the same yet different in many ways. This book is very creative and I’m looking forward to reading more on this character and her new found home.