Deadworld

Duncan debuts in a crowded subgenre, employing the now-requisite urban fantasy trappings of kickbutt heroine, vampires evil and redeemed, sardonic cat, and heart-of-gold sidekicks. Jackie Rutledge, an FBI agent and ugly drunk with the requisite traumatized past, has a penchant for rough sex and crude language. She also has a knack for stumbling into cases with a supernatural tinge, courtesy of her psychic partner Laurel. Nick Anderson is a 176-year-old vampire PI being stalked by a particularly twisted enemy who periodically reenacts the decades-old murders of Nick's wife and children. The two enter into an uneasy alliance that rapidly becomes personal in ways both exhilarating and horrifying. Jackie's collection of personal eccentricities does not ring especially true, making her a difficult heroine to sympathize with, but the investigative details are competently woven. It's a workmanlike effort, efficiently deploying the tropes and meeting reader expectations with a few minor twists to keep things interesting. (Apr.)