Every Which Way But Dead (Hollows Series #3)

( 651 )

Overview

Rachel Morgan's back! Bestselling author Kim Harrison returns with a new supernatural adventure that fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris won't want to miss.

Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master.

But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend ...

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Every Which Way But Dead (Hollows Series #3)

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More About This Book

Overview

Rachel Morgan's back! Bestselling author Kim Harrison returns with a new supernatural adventure that fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris won't want to miss.

Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master.

But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld.

And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay—literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever.

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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Review
In Every Which Way but Dead, the third -- and steamiest -- Rachel Morgan novel (Dead Witch Walking and The Good, the Bad, and the Undead) by Kim Harrison, the soul of everyone's favorite leather-loving earth witch is put in serious jeopardy when she tangles with a highly irate demon. Rachel's life is coming apart at the seams. Her boyfriend, Nick, has left her. One of her two business partners, a pixie named Jenks, has suddenly quit. And to make matters significantly worse, a powerful demon nicknamed Big Al is back to collect on an old debt. As Rachel tries to keep herself from being bodily dragged into the hereafter, her newest job puts her in league with Trent Kalamack, a ruthless councilman and unscrupulous businessman who has, until very recently, been her main nemesis. But as Rachel struggles to stay alive, she finally uncovers the jaw-dropping truth behind her father's death and unravels Kalamack's mysterious -- and equally mind-boggling -- agenda. She also finds love in the unlikeliest of places…. Blending horror, fantasy, and romance to create a genre-transcending story with widespread appeal, Harrison's Rachel Morgan novels are analogous to Laurell K. Hamilton's bestselling Anita Blake sequence, as well as Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series and Christine Feehan's Dark novels. Featuring an endearing cast of central characters, nonstop action, and Harrison's wicked sense of humor, this saga is -- as the tongue-in-cheek titles imply -- pure, unadulterated fun. Paul Goat Allen
Publishers Weekly

Even those who aren't born-and-bled fans of the horror genre should enjoy Harrison's third Rachel Morgan adventure, especially if they like lots of hot sex spiced with humor. Marguerite Gavin, who performed strongly in the earlier audio versions of Harrison's bestsellers, is the ideal choice to keep the pot bubbling: she merrily mixes charming urbanity with knowing wisdom about how real people behave. Rachel, of course, is still the toughest witch and bounty hunter in Cincinnati, Ohio-and as usual is up to her very short leather skirt in trouble. She's been abandoned by her lover, treated badly by a business partner (never trust a pixie!), and an old debt is about to be called in by an extremely irate and powerful demon known as Big Al. Add to this some frightening truths about the real powers behind the city's politicians and what really killed Rachel's father, and you've got a cross between The Sopranosand Draculawith lots of Sex in the Cityon the side. (Jan.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From the Publisher
"Marguerite Gavin, who performed strongly in the earlier audio versions of Harrison's bestsellers, is the ideal choice to keep the pot bubbling." —-Publishers Weekly Audio Review
Diana Gabaldon
“The world of the Hollows is fast-moving, funny, harrowing and scary, and—the greatest compliment to a fantasy—absolutely real.”
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060572990
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 6/28/2005
  • Series: Hollows Series , #3
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 512
  • Sales rank: 99260
  • Product dimensions: 6.68 (w) x 10.94 (h) x 1.07 (d)

Meet the Author

Kim Harrison

New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison was born and raised in the upper Midwest. Her bestselling Hollows novels include Dead Witch Walking; The Good, the Bad, and the Undead; Every Which Way But Dead; A Fistful of Charms; For a Few Demons More; The Outlaw Demon Wails; White Witch, Black Curse; Black Magic Sanction; Pale Demon; A Perfect Blood; Ever After; and The Undead Pool, plus the short-story collection Into the Woods, The Hollows Insider, and the graphic novels Blood Work and Blood Crime. She also writes the Madison Avery series for young adults.

Biography

Bestselling paranormal fantasy author Kim Harrison went all the way through school with nary a thought of becoming a writer. A biology major in college, she took only the required English courses needed to graduate. So when the writing bug hit her later in life, she found herself at a real disadvantage with grammar, spelling, and other basic weapons in the scribbler's arsenal. However, her love of books was her saving grace. Always a voracious reader, Harrison instinctively recognized the role of plot, pacing, and character development in good storytelling. She set about writing with great enthusiasm and plugged away for the better part of decade, until she was able to bring her skills up to par.

Harrison's debut novel grew out of frustration with a growing pile of rejection notices. In an attempt to get publishers' attention, she set out to craft something deliberately weird and edgy. She conceived a motley cast of vampires, werewolves, pixies, and witches, including a sexy bounty hunter named Rachel Morgan, and threw them together in a short story. Then, her agent introduced her to editor Diana Gill, and together they refined and expanded Harrison's idea into a full length novel.

Published in 2004, Dead Witch Walking became a bestseller, launched a blockbuster series, and catapulted Harrison into a pantheon of paranormal superstars that includes Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Christine Feehan, and Sherrilyn Kenyon. As if to validate her inclusion in these ranks, Harrison's stories have also been included in several bestselling paranormal collections.

Good To Know

  • Harrison claims that her muse exists in music. In our exclusive interview, she explained, "Music moves society more than most people realize. In my opinion, it's a soft manipulator of influence and change. I love the power of the musician who composes and performs. I envy their ability to put a nugget of truth in three minutes of sweat and emotional outpouring, colored entirely from their thoughts. And I'll admit that if I can, I'll steal that nugget of truth, study it, facet it, polish it, and place it in my writing."

  • On her MySpace page, Kim lists the following as her heroes: "My parents. Anyone who pursues their dreams when no one believes they can reach them. Single moms and dads."

  • Rachel Morgan and her otherworldly cohorts exist in and around an alternate version of Cincinnati, Ohio -- a "little big city" Harrison was familiar with from her Midwestern youth. She always tries to incorporate "Cincy" sights into her series novels, so readers are likely to find allusions to Eden Park, the Cincinnati Zoo, and other local neighborhoods and landmarks.

  • As a tribute to one of her favorite actor/directors, Harrison has given some of her Rachel Morgan novels titles that play on well-known Clint Eastwood films: For a Few Demons More, Every Which Way but Dead, The Outlaw Demon Wails, etc.

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    Read an Excerpt

    Every Which Way But Dead

    By Kim Harrison

    HarperTorch

    ISBN: 0-06-057299-X

    Chapter One

    I took a deep breath to settle myself, jerking the cuff of my gloves up to cover the bare patch of skin at my wrist. My fingers were numb through the fleece as I moved my next-to-largest spell pot to sit beside a small chipped tombstone, being careful to not let the transfer media spill. It was cold, and my breath steamed in the light of the cheap white candle I had bought on sale last week.

    Spilling a bit of wax, I stuck the taper to the top of the grave marker. My stomach knotted as I fixed my attention on the growing haze at the horizon, scarcely discernable from the surrounding city lights. The moon would be up soon, being just past full and waning. Not a good time to be summoning demons, but it would be coming anyway if I didn't call it. I'd rather meet Algaliarept on my own terms - before midnight.

    I grimaced, glancing at the brightly lit church behind me where Ivy and I lived. Ivy was running errands, not even aware I had made a deal with a demon, much less that it was time to pay for its services. I suppose I could be doing this inside where it was warm, in my beautiful kitchen with my spelling supplies and all the modern comforts, but calling demons in the middle of a graveyard had a perverse rightness to it, even with the snow and cold.

    And I wanted to meet it here so Ivy wouldn't have to spend tomorrow cleaning blood off the ceiling.

    Whether it would be demon blood or my own was a question I hoped I wouldn't have to answer. I wouldn't allow myself to be pulled into the ever-after to be Algaliarept's familiar. I couldn't. I had cut it once and made it bleed. If it could bleed, it could die. God, help me survive this. Help me find a way to make something good here.

    The fabric of my coat rasped as I clutched my arms about myself and used my boot to awkwardly scrape a circle of six inches of crusty snow off the clay-red cement slab where I had seen a large circle etched out. The room-sized rectangular block of stone was a substantial marker as to where God's grace stopped and chaos took over. The previous clergy had laid it down over the adulterated spot of once hallowed ground, either to be sure no one else was put to rest there accidentally or to fix the elaborate, half-kneeling, battle-weary angel it encompassed into the ground. The name on the massive tombstone had been chiseled off, leaving only the dates. Whomever it was had died in 1852 at the age of twenty-four. I hoped it wasn't an omen.

    Cementing someone into the ground to keep him or her from rising again sometimes worked - and sometimes it didn't - but in any case, the area wasn't sanctified anymore. And since it was surrounded by ground that was still consecrated, it made a good spot to summon a demon. If worse came to worst, I could always duck onto sanctified ground and be safe until the sun rose and Algaliarept was pulled back into the ever-after.

    My fingers were shaking as I took from my coat pocket a white silk pouch of salt that I had scraped out of my twenty- five-pound bag. The amount was excessive, but I wanted a solid circle, and some of the salt would be diluted as it melted the snow. I glanced at the sky to estimate where north was, finding a mark on the etched circle right where I thought it should be. That someone had used this circle to summon demons before didn't instill me with any confidence. It wasn't illegal or immoral to summon demons, just really, really stupid.

    I made a slow clockwise path from north, my footprints paralleling the outside track of the salt as I laid it down, enclosing the angel monolith along with most of the blasphemed ground. The circle would be a good fifteen feet across, a rather large enclosure which generally took at least three witches to make and hold, but I was good enough to channel that much ley line force alone. Which, now that I thought about it, might be why the demon was so interested in snagging me as its newest familiar.

    Tonight I'd find out if my carefully worded verbal contract made three months ago would keep me alive and on the right side of the ley lines. I had agreed to be Algaliarept's familiar voluntarily if it testified against Piscary, the catch being that I got to keep my soul.

    The trial had officially ended two hours after sunset tonight, sealing the demon's end of the bargain and making my end enforceable. That the undead vampire who controlled most of Cincinnati's underworld had been sentenced to five centuries for the murders of the city's best ley line witches hardly seemed important now. Especially when I was betting his lawyers would get him out in a measly one.

    Right now the question on everyone's mind on both sides of the law was whether Kisten, his former scion, would be able to hold everything together until the undead vampire got out, because Ivy wasn't going to do it, scion or no. If I managed to get through this night alive and with my soul intact, I'd start worrying about me a little less and my roommate a little more, but first I had to settle up with the demon.

    Shoulders so tight they hurt, I took the milky green tapers from my coat pocket and placed them on the circle to represent the points of a pentagram I wouldn't be drawing. I lit them from the white candle I used to make the transfer media.

    (Continues...)


    Excerpted from Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison Excerpted by permission.
    All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
    Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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    Table of Contents

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    Customer Reviews

    Average Rating 4.5
    ( 651 )
    Rating Distribution

    5 Star

    (454)

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    (146)

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    (39)

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    See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 654 Customer Reviews

    • Posted Wed Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2009

      I Also Recommend:

      Magic Burns (Kate Daniels Series #2)
      Love's Eclipse Of The Heart
      White Witch, Black Curse (Hollows Series #7)

      Every Which Way But Dead

      Since reading the first of the Rachel Morgan series, I have grown to love getting the next in the chain. Every time I dive into the pages and submerge into the world that Kim Harrison so eloquently portrays, I feel a part of the story. Her extraordinary gift is making such fantasy feel whole, real and totally believable.
      This to me was the failing of others like buffy, which always felt unreal. Rachel is sassy, and knows what real life is, and to me they should put these into film ASAP!
      Book 3 Rachel starts to think she can start getting her life in order, but as always things never quite go to plan. Living with a family of Pixies, a living vampire and having your boyfriend as a familiar would suggest 'normality' is a dream that will never come true, but lets hope Rachel can do it.
      If you are looking to drop out of the hum-drum and into a complex and real fantasy world, with adult emotions shown with grit and feeling, these are the books for you, and book 3 is even better!

      8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Posted Sun May 08 00:00:00 EDT 2011

      more from this reviewer

      I Also Recommend:

      Stray (Shifters Series #1)
      Grimspace (Sirantha Jax Series #1)
      First Truth (Truth Series #1)
      Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian Series #1)
      Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series #1)

      Page-Turner!

      Kim Harrison is definitely in my top 10 favorite authors, especially for the books she wrote as Dawn Cook. This novel was full of action, humor, and a whole bunch of sass! Just as good as the first two in the series, and bodes really well for future novels. Harrison really knows how to develop interesting characters! If you enjoy this author, you will also like the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, "Grimspace" by Ann Aguirre, "Stray" by Rachel Vincent, and perhaps the Riley Jensen series by Keri Arthur.

      4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Anonymous

      Posted Mon Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2008

      I Also Recommend:

      Bite Me If You Can (Argeneau Vampire Series #6)
      Definitely Dead (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #6)
      Love Returns Through The Portal Of Time
      Dead To The World

      EVRY WHICH WAY BUT DEAD...GREAT SERIES!

      Yeah, ok, so since reading the first of the Rachel Morgan series, I have grown to love getting the next in the chain. Every time I dive into the pages and submerge into the world that Kim Harrison so eloquently portrays, I feel a part of the story. Her extraordinary gift is making such fantasy feel whole, real and totally believable. <BR/>This to me was the failing of others like buffy, which always felt unreal. Rachel is sassy, and knows what real life is, and to me they should put these into film ASAP! <BR/>Book 3 Rachel starts to think she can start getting her life in order, but as always things never quite go to plan. Living with a family of Pixies, a living vampire and having your boyfriend as a familiar would suggest 'normality' is a dream that will never come true, but lets hope Rachel can do it. <BR/>If you are looking to drop out of the hum-drum and into a complex and real fantasy world, with adult emotions shown with grit and feeling, these are the books for you, and book 3 is even better! Very addicting.

      3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Posted Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 EDT 2009

      An extremely entertaining read.

      I was absolutely delighted that I had the oppotunity to read this novel. This is the first book that I read out of the series not knowing that it, indeed, had other books before this and more to follow. One character in particular caught my attention immediately. Jenks!! Of course Kisten was enchanting but I dont believe the story would be what it was without Jenks. Its thrilling, dangerous, with a dash of humor to keep you captivated. If you have read the first three I would suggest you keep reading. If this is your first as it was mine then Id advise you to go back and read the first two first. And for those who have not read this enticing novel I recommend that you pacify your taste buds with this satisfying book.

      2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted Tue Mar 19 00:00:00 EDT 2013

      Absolutely amazing

      Sexy, exciting, and keeps you guessing. This whole series pulls at your imagination and brings alive The Hallows im addicted

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 EST 2009

      more from this reviewer

      I Also Recommend:

      Something from the Nightside (Nightside Series #1)
      The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next Series #1)
      Dead Witch Walking (Hollows Series #1)

      Harrison keeps this series going strong.

      Each book lets you learn a little more about the characters and, believe me, there is still more to learn. And the reader meets new characters or has more revealed about someone you thought might be a side character but ends up being pulled into the mix. I think that's the strength of these books; you really WANT to know more about everyone.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted Fri Jul 11 00:00:00 EDT 2014

      Ben

      I forgot which place to go to

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    • Posted Thu Mar 27 00:00:00 EDT 2014

      I Also Recommend:

      Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series #1)
      Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress Series #1)
      Undead and Unwed (Betsy Taylor Series #1)
      Bitten (Women of the Otherworld Series #1)

      The Hollows by Kim Harrison is definitely one of my favorite se

      The Hollows by Kim Harrison is definitely one of my favorite series of all time. Every Which Way But Dead is the third book in the series and is another example of the excellent writing of Kim Harrison. I think I'd enjoy reading her grocery list.

      Rachel is in trouble. She's wrestling the demon Al to keep her freedom; trying to find her way in her relationship with Ivy, her roommate; getting hot under the collar for Kistan, the vampire; and arguing with her partner, Jenks. So, yah, everything's normal.

      While the story is great, the genius as always in this series is the characters. Harrison writes characters that can pop off the page and go out to dinner with you. As long as it's not Piscary, the vampire kingpin.

      You can read this book without reading the first two in the series, but I think it would be more enjoyable to start with the first book, Dead Witch Walking and read them in order. This series is a must read for paranormal/supernatural vampire, pixy, werewolf fans!

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Anonymous

      Posted Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2013

      Awesomeness!

      Loved it!

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Posted Fri Nov 08 00:00:00 EST 2013

      I have read all the Rachel Morgan books multiple times.

      I have read all the Rachel Morgan books multiple times.

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Anonymous

      Posted Wed Nov 06 00:00:00 EST 2013

      Kim harrison did it again

      In this third installment...glad nick is out of her life that wimp.....but will not get into details because people hate spoilers!!!!!

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    • Anonymous

      Posted Sun Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2013

      Amazing!

      This series is a must read! She has a way coming up with more amazing adventures that will keep you on the edge and wanting more!

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Anonymous

      Posted Tue Jul 30 00:00:00 EDT 2013

      A fun romp through a magical world

      Kim Harrison and her itchy witch Rachel Morgan are awesome. They are not heavy reading like Voltaire or Kant. But, they are fun, energizing, well written, awesomely developed and just a good all around read. When you just have to have something fun to do this is it.

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Anonymous

      Posted Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2014

      Love them!

      Live them keep them coming!

      Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

    • Anonymous

      Posted Mon Feb 18 00:00:00 EST 2013

      good book

      good book

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    • Posted Thu Feb 07 00:00:00 EST 2013

      Excellent series!!  Love all the characters!!

      Excellent series!!  Love all the characters!!

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    • Posted Tue Nov 20 00:00:00 EST 2012

      super

      she keeps getting better

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    • Anonymous

      Posted Fri Oct 19 00:00:00 EDT 2012

      Fantastic writer

      Great read

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    • Anonymous

      Posted Thu Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2012

      So Glad I found this series!!

      I don't know what I would do if I didn't find this series. I read all the Stephanie Plum books, I am working my way through the Anita Blake series (at break neck speeds, I might add). I was starting to worry that I would not find another, oh so great, "page turner" in time. I will admit, the begining of the first book I found a little too full of information, but now I cannot get enough. I buy a couple of books every payday to ensure i don't run out between payday's. Just AWESOME! I so cannot wait to read more. I gotta have more, oohhh, twinges of my old adictive personality returning. I better be careful.... awe what am I talking about....

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    • Anonymous

      Posted Tue Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2012

      Every Wich eay but Dead is Amazing

      This story is like so awesome already and I love her books I alrady have read her first two plus 'Dead Witches Tell No Tales' I have a goal to read all of he Rachel Morgan based books even if it kills me this book is really good I would reccomend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and action based slightly on he real world
      YOUR FAITHFUL REVIEWER,
      The Girl Maruader

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