An Easy Death

Starred review from July 23, 2018
In a bleak alternate history of what’s left of a broken-up United States after Franklin Roosevelt is assassinated—where poverty is rampant and magic is real but not widely accepted—Harris (the Midnight, Texas series) tells the harrowing story of a young bodyguard, Lizbeth “Gunnie” Rose, whose job is to keep others alive. After her team and closest friends are killed in a mission gone wrong, Rose is forced to move on for the sake of survival, even if it means taking a gig protecting those she’s spent her life hating: two Russian wizards, or grigoris, who have come to town looking for another wizard. She tells them he’s dead, but doesn’t mention that she killed him—or why. It’s not until she’s too deep into the search for his brother that she finds out her own life is in danger: these wizards are more hunted than they realized, but she may be the one the hunters really want. In this fast-paced thriller fueled by magic and gunslinging, no one can be trusted. Harris’s vividly detailed story will leave readers enthralled with the fascinating setting and a heroine who’s sure to be a new fan favorite.

August 1, 2018

Lizbeth Rose is a 19-year-old gunslinger in the dystopia that remains after the U.S. government falls apart and the nation is divided up by conquerors. Living in the southwestern country of Texoma, she guides families seeking asylum between the newly expanded Mexico and New America to the north. When her renegade cohorts are killed by bandits in a run, Lizbeth must seek new employment to keep herself fed and alive. She ends up doing the one thing she always swore she wouldn't: aligning herself with the Grigoris, magicians from the Holy Russian Empire, who are on a quest to save their tsar. Little do the Grigoris know that Lizbeth is harboring a secret that could change the trajectory of their mission. VERDICT Best-selling author Harris's ("Sookie Stackhouse" and "Midnight Crossroad" series) latest thriller combines the supernatural elements she's known for with a dose of Western flair. It's a slow starter but an intriguing genre blend resulting in a mostly seamless read. Her fans won't be disappointed.--Chelsie Harris, San Diego Cty. Lib.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2018
In the opening novel of Harris' new series, set in a dangerous and largely lawless alternate United States, a young gunslinger for hire hits the trail to track down a descendant of Rasputin.Life isn't easy and death is around every corner in Harris' thrilling new adventure, in which the U.S. is a shadow of its former self. Franklin Roosevelt was assassinated before he could be sworn in, and the country was subsequently fractured: Mexico has reclaimed Texas, Canada has usurped a large swath of the northern states, and the Holy Russian Empire has taken over California. American Indians have also largely reclaimed the land that was stolen from them by the government. Nineteen-year-old Lizbeth Rose is a skilled gunslinger for hire, but a disastrous run-in with bandits has left her the sole survivor of her crew. After making it home, she's approached by Paulina Coopersmith and Ilya "Eli" Savarov, two grigoris (aka wizards), who want her to help them find wizard Oleg Karkarov, who they think is a descendant of Rasputin and whose blood may be able to help their beloved czar. There's a hitch: She tells them he's dead but doesn't mention that she's the one who killed him. So, instead, they all set out in hopes of finding Oleg's brother. Narrator Lizbeth is a pragmatic young woman with an unshakeable work ethic who doesn't let her gender define her and isn't given to emotional outbursts, but there are just enough moments to remind readers that the loss of those she loves, and her desire to keep those she has left safe, is ultimately her driving force. Harris (Sleep Like a Baby, 2017, etc.), well-known for her wildly popular Sookie Stackhouse novels and TV series, populates her gritty, immersive new world with genuinely interesting characters, and chilling moments of horror--of both the human and supernatural kind--punctuate this relentlessly paced road trip.A refreshing and cinematic, weird Western starring a sharp-as-nails, can-do heroine. Harris' many fans will surely follow Gunnie Rose anywhere.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2018
Harris has a remarkable talent for world building. In the Sookie Stackhouse series, she turned a tiny town into a vampire colony. Then came the Midnight Crossroad trilogy, with its collection of otherworldly critters. Here, the world she's building is a phantasmagoric U.S., shattered by war and the assassination of FDR. Mexico has retaken Texas, Canada has claimed the Northwest, Russia has California. Through this brutal landscape, with its street killings and public hangings, moves 19-year-old Lizbeth Rose, who discovered early on she was good with guns and so became a gunnie, a shootist selling her skills to people seeking protection. This time she is hired by a Russian pair searching for a descendant of Rasputin whose blood could save their czar's life. Like Stephen King, Harris can't keep out a tinge of the supernatural, so we watch a spell that causes a victim's blood to leave his body. Harris fans will recognize her matter-of-fact style and deadpan humor?a bar is called Elbows Up?but may be startled by the dark undercurrents and the flashes of violence. In all, this looks like another winning series from a sure-bet author.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)