Hanover, M.L.N.: Killing Rites
Killing Rites (2011)
Written by: M.L.N. Hanover
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 367 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Four (The Black Sun's Daughter)
Why I Read It: I've been thrilled with Hanover's The Black Sun's Daughter series to date, and the only reason I waited to get this book was on the off-chance I'd get it for Christmas. Since I didn't, I grabbed it up right after the new year, and read it almost immediately.
Note: premise contains spoilers for the third book in the series, Vicious Grace.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Jayné Heller has discovered the source of her uncanny powers: something else is living inside her body. She’s possessed. Of all her companions, she can only bring herself to confide in Ex, the former priest. They seek help from his old teacher, hoping to cleanse Jayné before the parasite in her becomes too powerful. Ex’s history and a new enemy combine to leave Jayné alone and on the run. Her friends try to hunt her down, unaware of the danger they’re putting her in. Jayné must defeat the past, and her only allies are a rogue vampire she once helped free -- and the nameless thing hiding inside her skin.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. For this book AND previous installments in the series, so don't read the full review unless you're caught up completely. Instead, skip to "My Rating" and you'll be good shape. However, if you're caught up? Onward!
I was a little nervous at the start of this book. Jayné and Ex have basically gone into hiding in order to take care of the rider Jayné's realized is residing within her. She's ignoring Chogyi Jake's calls, telling herself it's to give him time to heal, and she's suffering from the lessons learned and actions committed in Vicious Grace, where she buried an innocent man alive. The plan to get rid of her rider is a simple one: Ex came from a cabal of demon-hunting priests, so they've called upon his old boss to help out. At first, the head priest isn't interested: we learn later it's because that not only do they get their fair share of psychiatric patients thinking they're possessed, and if they aren't psychologically assessed, the exorcism rites could actually really hurt them, but also because what caused Ex's break from the cabal was getting too close to a supposedly-demon possessed woman who ended up committing suicide right in front of him. A woman who wasn't actually possessed (hence the previous rule), but who also looks an awful lot like Jayné.
Suddenly, his devotion to her has taken a slightly creepy angle.
But that wasn't the reason I was nervous. After Father Chapin originally told Jayné no until she saw a psychiatrist, he changes his mind after seeing Jayné's rider in action, and they decide to proceed. This is where it gets uncomfortable.
There's always been a healthy dose of religion in this series. Jayné came from an extremely religious household and lost her faith as an adult. She tells Father Chapin on page 16:
"Well, we used to be really close, but then I went away to college. The whole long distance thing was really a drag, so we're kind of seeing other deities."
The religious element pursued in the preparations of her exorcism, as well as what happens during and after, made me really uncomfortable. Not because it was done badly, mind you, and not because any mention of any Christian religion makes me uncomfortable. No, it made me uncomfortable because this is urban fantasy, and I wasn't buying the notion that all riders were inherently bad. I suspected, strongly, that Jayné's rider might somehow be a good guy, and I hated seeing this mistake made in action, disguised with all that religious talk about tarnished souls and the like. Jayné was making a mistake, and I knew that going in, so the first part of the book had me filled with dread.
Things picked up once Jayné realized she might be making a mistake too. During the exorcism, while Jayné's rider (who is both the Black Sun and the Black Sun's daughter) is protesting and losing her hold on Jayné, something else tries to invade Jayné at the same time, which forces her to go with the devil she knows, and she makes her escape (after some very unfair treatment at the hands of Father Chapin and his cabal. And Ex, but poor Ex is suffering from some serious approval and redemption issues in this book, so his judgment is shot to hell).
Once that got settled, and Jayné allied with her rider to figure out the truth, things got interesting. Midian, our favorite vampire chef from Unclean Spirits, makes a cameo, which was thrilling (and made me miss him even more), and for once, Jayné has to rely on herself and her own thinking to get herself out of the situation she's in.
I thought I had a few things figured out. I figured that the reason Chapin was so adamant in not believing Jayné's story was because he was the one who was being ridden, and therefore had a reason to deny her accusations quickly, firmly, with plenty of religious dogma. I figured that by the end of the book, Jayné would keep her rider, and because of that decision, Ex would leave, because he couldn't be around a person, let alone the woman he loves, who'd willingly let herself be possessed. I also figured (and this is something I figured for a while), that when Jayné had that crazy night where she woke up with no memory and a tattoo wrapped around her torso and her Uncle Eric helped her out that THAT was when she was infected with the rider.
Based on this book, I'm definitely wrong about two of those theories, and one I'm not sure about.
The actual villain was one of Chapin's cabal, and it made for an exciting scene when all of that played out. And what happened afterwards was really epic, and it was awesome to see Jayné, the Black Sun's Daughter, and Chapin combine forces to defeat all the riders in the town.
And Ex didn't leave. He refuses to consider other avenues with Jayné at the moment, but being employed by her is apparently still on the table, which is interesting. I do wonder where exactly that thread is headed, because I'd always worry with him at my back, knowing that he wants nothing more than for the rider to be gone, and it isn't, you know? But by the end of the book, the gang's back together (minus Aubrey and Kim, whom I didn't miss, but adding a dog, which was all kinds of fun. Urban fantasy heroes with dogs FTW!).
What I'm not sure about is when, exactly, Jayné got the rider. It seems that the rider's been with her far longer than that particular night in question, which makes me wonder how it got there and what that particular night was all about. Of course, that wondering is the point: by the end of the book, Jayné's decided to try to get information about Eric from the people who knew him best, namely, her mother (who we learned, in previous books, actually had an affair with Eric). The book ends there, and since I know there's at least two more books left in this series, I can't wait to see where Hanover takes us.
As for where I want to see Jayné and Ex end up, I'm not sure. This passage on page 301-302 really did a good job in convincing me that maybe they belong together though, though it also goes a long way in pointing out that maybe not:
It was just a few days before that he'd lain on the couch wearing a blanket and told me in a soft voice about falling from grace with God. I'd hesitated at this cracked-open door to see him sleep, and he'd promised me that if my feet were too bruised, he would carry me. I wanted to know if we were still those people. The long nights of distracting me when I woke up screaming, the mornings of making coffee for me quietly enough that I didn't wake up. They'd been hellish, and every single time, he'd risen to the occasion. I didn't know how I'd have made it through without him. He'd never tried to use my bad nights to make a pass. He'd never been anything less than great, crisis after crisis after crisis. There was an intimacy in it that I hadn't totally recognized until now. And now I was afraid it was gone.
I wanted to know if the man who'd protected me when I was broken was able to forgive me for saving myself without him.
My Rating: Good Read
Another great installment that started out worrying me just a tick, but then quickly moved into awesomeness as Jayné reunites with old friends, makes new ones, and learns how to land on her own two feet. Jayné grows in this book, and that's always a plus for me in an urban fantasy series. Killing Rites reads at a quick, fast pace, and by the end had me wondering what was next, which again, is also a great thing in an urban fantasy series. We learn a lot about Jayné herself and what's actually behind her seemingly impossible talents, we answer a few questions we've had ever since book one. If you haven't started this series yet, it's time, because it's been a great ride so far (just make sure you start at the beginning, and not, yanno, in the middle of the series).
Cover Commentary: There's something awkward about this cover I don't care for. While I like the general consistency, this is the first time Jayné has not been front and center in the cover. This time, she's off to the side, despite being the predominant image. But what I think bugs me the most is that it appears they changed models. Note covers for book three, book two, and book one. She's obvious got more meat on her bones here, which I don't mind at all, but the face is different, despite the fact that in previous covers, her face has either been cropped or obscured in some way. This is the first time we've really seen her face clearly, but I swear it's a different model. I've also noticed they've basically kept the same outfit on her each time. Book one, not so much (same pants though), but definitely for books two, three and four. I do like the addition of the black duster, and it may be a case where I just need to get used to the change. That said, despite the post being appropriately mocked in photo-shoots (see here for the male perspective and here for the female perspective), I think it's my favorite cover of the series. Book two comes a close second. :)
A plea to the author: Please update your website. Please. Pretty please. Thank you!
Next up: Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper