Bad to the Bone

Starred review from March 2, 2009
In Smith-Ready’s espionage farce sequel to 2008’s Wicked Game
, Ciara Griffin and her vampire DJs face another threat to their Maryland radio station 94.3 WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll. When the Family Action Network (FAN) disrupts WVMP’s Halloween broadcast by pirating their signal and jamming it with antivampire rhetoric, Ciara swears revenge. Under the aegis of the International Agency for the Control and Management of Undead Corporeal Entities, Ciara turns spy and infiltrates the cult’s fortress, armed with her wits and her vampire-healing “antiholy” blood. Aiding her are a crew of hip vamp buddies and vampire dog Dexter, whom she rescues after finding him chained to a cross outside a FAN enclave. Smith-Ready pours plenty of fun into her charming, fang-in-cheek urban fantasy, which frequently skirts the edge of parody.

April 1, 2009
Once a con artist on the run, Ciara Griffin now operates as owner as well as overworked, underpaid marketing manager for a small radio station with DJs of the undead variety. On Halloween, the station's "live" nighttime broadcast from a local pub, The Smoking Pig, encounters problems almost immediately when the midnight broadcast of DJ goth queen Regina is preempted by the broadcast of a religious screed warning about the wages of sins. WVMP has been targeted by a group called Family Action Network (FAN). Mortal Ciara and her undead friends must also contend with a government agency offering to help, though its sincerity may not be genuine. Matters of the heart afflict Ciara and her immortal boyfriend, Shane. Several believable, captivating characters abound, including a sweet-natured vampire dog named Dexter. This terrific sequel to "Wicked Game" is by turns funny, sexy, and gripping. For urban fantasy fans.Patricia Altner, BiblioInfo.com, Columbia, MD

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