Faith Hunter – Death’s Rival

The fifth book in the Jane Yellowrock series, published October 2, 2012.
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: strong, I like it



Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don't want to cross - especially if you're one of the undead...

For a former vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and they're not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that's tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo's not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires but leaves humans untouched, as carriers of the dread disease.
Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo's territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to venture into the underbelly of vamp society, where rules were made to be broken. As she circles closer to the truth, she finds the answers to the secret that could turn every vampire in the U.S. true-dead...


This series is made of awesome, it keeps getting impossibly better and better. I was totally enthralled while reading this book and the next one back to back.

Some master vampire is making other master vampires sick, and then challenging them to a duel. Of course they have no chance at winning that, ill as they are, and so Leo Pellissier is loosing some of his most important allies. The conquered vamps are dying, and a sick vampire is really unheard of. He needs to find out who is behind this and vanquish him. And he needs Jane to find out the truth. And they need to find a vaccine.
This new vampire player does not play by vampire rules! He is a Naturaleza, someone who thinks vampires are entitled to whatever they want, hunting and killing humans who are only food to them. And of course some vampires, who have played by the rules of the Vampire Carta all their undead lives, are now tempted by this old way. But going rogue like that, means that Jane is licensed to kill them. What she doesn’t know that vampires who are not almost starving, but instead gorging on blood, are much stronger and harder to kill.

In the previous book, Jane killed a bloodservant who entered her hotelroom while she was sleeping, out of self defense. But the master vampire this servant belongs to, doesn’t see it that way, and he feels entitled to go to bloodwar on Leo and all that is his. And when Leo forces Jane to become his Enforcer for real, Jane is devastated at that, and at Bruiser’s betrayal, even though she knows he did not stand a chance against Leo’s powers. Luckily, Beast can demolish that bond over time, and I was very happy with that. Of course Leo has no idea why or how his power over Jane is diminishing. Jane doesn´t even have Rick with her to help her, as he has joined PSYled, the supernatural branch of Homeland Security.

But when Jane finds out who the murdering vampire is, and his history with her people, she knows she will kill him for what he did. She will avenge her people's suffering.


What more is there to tell, then that I truly love this series, and whished there were dozens more books to devour. It is original, sometimes dark and gritty, but always surprising. And I do love Jane and her Beast. I like that Jane does not sleep with all the guys who want her, and as her Beast want her to. Big cats are not monogamous, they just choose the strongest male, and then go their merry way. But Jane does not give in.
The bits and pieces about her past that Jane rediscovers are masterly woven into the story, and I can't wait to find out what happens next. O wait, I already did : )

10 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian