UNDER DARKNESS

Author: Savannah Russe ISBN: 9780451223852 5/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: NAL/SIGNET

The terrorist threat to America continues, but this time it's so top secret that only those in the highest circles of government know about it. One of America's most important symbols of liberty has been stolen, but that's nothing compared to the terrorists' chilling plan for their next attack. And as it unfolds, Daphne and the vampire spies, the Darkwings, become the first—and only—line of defense to save a city. Team Darkwing's assignment: Figure out and defuse the terrorist plot. But Daphne gets distracted when vampire hunters storm the city. Is Darius, her hot-and-cold lover, behind their reappearance? This time, will he return to love Daphne... or to commit the ultimate act of betrayal?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

UNDER DARKNESS is the fifth installment in The Darkwing Chronicles by Savannah Russe. I admit I didn't read any of the others. I think I may have enjoyed this even more if I had read the first books, but not having read them didn't diminish my pleasure one bit. There were definitely background pieces that felt missing for me, but still and all, this is one very well written vampire adventure and that is enough to make this, even as a standalone read, a dynamite story.

Team Darkwing is a group of vampires who work undercover for the government. It's a great premise—the bad guys being the good guys out to stomp the bad guys... I mean, it's not typical for the creatures of the night to wear white hats! Ms. Russe makes it seem right and when there's a theft to be solved, the team is called. It isn't just a matter of locating a national treasure and finding out why—and by whom—it was taken. There's a new threat, aimed at the team, in the form of a bunch of vampire hunters. Daphne, Darkwing's leader, is tortured by the thought that Darius, an old love, may be behind the vampire hunt. She's torn but the original mission still needs to be taken care of. After all, there are terrorists plotting and she and Team Darkwing are the only ones who can foil them! Daphne's love life will have to wait while she and the others save the country.

If you can't already tell, Savannah Russe has a new fan in this reader. I'm torn about what to say because I don't know how much of the story is already familiar to those who read the series. It's hard to know what is backstory and what bits are new, so I'm going to err on the side of caution and just say I loved UNDER DARKNESS. I read it in one sitting—not because I planned to read it that way, but because once I started, I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know which lover Daphne would choose. I wanted to see the bad guys stomped on. And mostly, I wanted to know that sometimes the least likely group of heroes (and heroine!) can save the world. This is stellar storytelling and you can bet your bottom dollar I'm going to pick up the rest of the series. Well done!

Kay James