In this fourth installment of Stephen Blackmoore's series about LA necromancer Eric Carter, Carter is again on the run after antagonizing a vengeful deity. (He still hasn't learned from his mistakes.) To complicate things, he's also being framed for a series of grisly murders, there's a crazy sicaria running around lighting everything on fire, and the families of the murder victims have put a bounty on his head. Luckily, he knows some powerful people -- namely, a dangerous witch called "La Bruja," a police detective named Letitia, and his complicated wife, Santa Muerte herself.

If it sounds like there's a lot going on, it's because there is. You might need to take some notes.

Eric Carter is a jerk -- he's irreverent, rude, and indifferent towards the innocent deaths he leaves in his wake, hellbent on winning every Pyrrhic victory he can. And I'm eagerly reading these books, rooting for him. What is wrong with me? I liked it, and I will keep reading the books in the series, but I can't help but wonder when La Bruja, Letitia, or some other character will wise up to the fact that LA would be a lot safer if Carter joined his wife down in the Aztec underworld.

arc received from the publisher