The Undead Pool

Harrison’s slow but steady 12th and penultimate Hollows novel (following 2012’s Ever After) puts even more pressure on Rachel Morgan, a witch and bounty hunter turned day-walking demon. A series of magical accidents endangers Cincinnati and its undead community. On the personal front Rachel must balance her bodyguard duties for elf drug lord Trent Kalamack, who was once her sworn enemy, with her growing forbidden attraction to him. When Rachel becomes host to the Goddess’s sentient thought-entities, she holds the futures of elves and demons alike in her hands, but at a terrible risk to sanity and existence. The long-running romantic subplot makes substantial progress, with several cinematic action sequences and major world-building revelations interspersed among more intimate scenes. There’s a general sensation of closure and imminent climax as Harrison maneuvers toward the end, and patient readers are promised a substantial payoff. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates. (Mar.)