Every Which Way But Dead (Hollows, #3)

by Kim Harrison

The third book in the New York Times bestselling urban fantasy-thriller series starring sexy bounty hunter and witch, Rachel Morgan. If you make a deal with the devil, can you still save your soul? To avoid becoming the love-slave of a depraved criminal vampire, bounty-hunter and witch, Rachel Morgan, is cornered into a deal that could promise her an eternity of suffering. But eternal damnation is not Rachel's only worry. Her vampire roommate, Ivy, has rediscovered her taste for blood and is struggling to keep their relationship platonic, her boyfriend, Nick, has disappeared - perhaps indefinitely, and she's being stalked by an irate pack of werewolves. And then there's also the small matter of the turf war raging in Cincinnati's underworld; one that Rachel began and will have to navigate before she has the smallest hope of preserving her own future.

• ISBN10: 006057299X
• ISBN13: 9780060572990
• Publish Date: 28 June 2005
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harper Torch
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Every Which Way But Dead is Kim Harrison’s third novel in The Hollows series. Rachel Morgan (alongside Ivy and Jenks) is back, and this time she’s going to get involved with the underworld war that she might have had a hand in crafting.
Rachel Morgan, bounty hunter, is not your typical witch. There’s something different about her magic, even if she’s not yet at a point where she’s willing to accept that fact. She’s a chaos magnet, and seems to always grab on hardest to the cases most likely to get her killed. But that’s her charm, and we love her for it.

I should probably mention that I’ve already read The Hollows series (several times), but I recently noticed that I never actually reviewed them. So in preparation for the next Hollows book (so excited!) I’m going to do a reread and review run.

“It made them feel good that the big bad witch who beat up Piscary trusted them.”

Kim Harrison has done it again. Every Which Way But Dead was another thrilling read, with Rachel once again diving headlong into danger for the great good. This is a prime example of Urban Fantasy, one set in a lush and heavily detailed world full of supernaturals and magic.
There is so much to love about Every Which Way But Dead. This plot was very much of Rachel’s own making, in a sense. After all, every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. And that goes doubly so when you’re trying to affect change in a magical underworld.
The highlight of this novel would have to be the character development tucked within the pages. All of the main characters (Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks) got pulled through their paces here. But secondary characters got bigger parts here, getting a chance to grow and develop alongside the main cast. It was exactly what I’ve wanted to see.
This series is steadily building tension, thanks to all of the changes that Rachel has been facing and creating. And it’s only going to keep building from here. Kim Harrison knows how to build off of previous novels, creating an intricate world and plots full of consequences.

As a side note, I mentioned above that I’m currently rereading the whole series. It’s been refreshing to see this world all over again. But it’s also a bit painful. You see, one of my favorite characters got a bigger role in this book (Kisten, in case that wasn’t obvious). But the more I see of him, the more my heart hurts – because I know what lays in store for him. I’m not sure I can handle seeing that all over again. But I’ll manage, I suppose. I’ll just need copious amounts of chocolate.

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Chelsea]

I'm starting to really love this series now! The romance is a little weird to me but that's probably because I'm hoping for a different pairing than what we're getting. I do wish certain plot points moved a little faster because I'm tired of seeing the same conversations over and over. I'm really interested in Trent and hope we get to see more of him!

[celinenyx]

Review of third read

Every Which Way But Dead sees a slight change in direction from the previous two books. Main character Rachel, a feisty witch, spends most of the beginning of the series denying the existence of a morally grey area. She tells herself that she is a white witch, on the right side of the law. Yet over and over, when her survival instinct kicks in, she makes choices that are not necessarily in line with her morals.

I really enjoy seeing her grow as a person. There is something interesting about dilemmas where there is no obvious choice, and seeing how a character deals with these impossible situations. Where in the previous books Rachel gets away with not killing anyone, she is confronted increasingly with situations in which death becomes unavoidable. What I like is that the book as a result doesn't necessarily become grim: there is still plenty of humour and cuteness in Every Which Way But Dead to keep things from becoming too heavy. It helps that Rachel is far from a doormat. She is assertive and mouthy, and at no point does it feel like the situation is helpless (even though she herself is less convinced about her own abilities).

In this book Kisten, a living vampire biker/businessman, becomes a more prominent love interest. Kisten is leather-clad sexy cleverness, seducing whatever interests him. He is rather typical, and while that's not particularly bad, I miss some point of interest that truly binds me to him, that makes me root for him. I find his interactions with Ivy, with whom he has an odd sibling-like bond, more interesting than his seduction of Rachel. On the other hand, I do appreciate how there is no obvious "the one" for Rachel - her dating life is quite realistic, in as much that is possible in an urban fantasy.

Review of second read

Rereading these books feels like returning to an old friend. Even though you might not have everything in common any more, you can't help but love them anyway.

Rachel is in big trouble, once again. She made a pact with a demon to put a vampire master in prison, promising to be the demon's familiar, yet keeping her soul. She's living together with a living vamp that still craves her blood, and we haven't started on her complicated relationship with the city's drug baron yet. Prepare for another book of Rachel trying to keep her head above the proverbial (and literal) water.

In this book we see a slight shift from the fast-paced plot-driven books we're used to, to a book more focussed on the complex relationships Rachel tries to balance. Ms. Harrison has created a few of the most layered secondary characters I have ever seen. Which is both a blessing as a curse. A good example of this is Ivy, Rachel's roommate. She has so many issues with her identity that at times, she is really hard to like. She takes unpredictable into the extreme, often making choices I don't agree with at all. Yet she is always Rachel's friend when she needs one, and will protect her with her life. A big part of her private life is still shrouded in mystery, making it even harder to sympathise with.

But to make up for Ivy's sometimes not so sociable skills, this series has the most awesome pixy in the world of books. I don't think there is a person out there that doesn't like Jenks. He is so tiny he can fit on a large earring, but incredibly brave and protective. He isn't afraid to say what's on his mind which only makes him more charming. I want more of him!

As for our narrator, Rachel herself, I feel like she is growing up a bit. She is starting to accept help from her friends without hesitation. She is taking more responsibility, without losing her edge. I'm really glad that Nick is kind of fading out of the picture. I always thought he was one hell of a strange human, muddling with demons and such. I really wonder if there will be a happily ever after for Rachel at the end of the series. And if so, with who?

Another great book in a great series. Maybe not the best one tension-wise but there is enough of character development going on to keep you interested. On to the next one!

[Linda]

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

Every Which Way but Dead is an apt title for this book, because Rachel will do almost anything in order to make sure she'll be alive when all is said and done. She has some very big players to go up against now, though, and she especially has to be very cunning in her dealings with her favorite demon, Al.

[tellemonstar]

Cross-posted at Book Reviews With The Blogmonstar

Every Which Way But Dead wasn’t was good as the first two Hollows books. Parts of it were really good, especially the last third where the plot really thumped along, but as a whole, it just wasn’t quite as good.

As much as I admire her ballsy-ness, Rachel is more than just a little stupid sometimes. Intentionally or otherwise. She keeps going on about how Nick was summoning demons and such, but she doesn’t really seem to have to much trouble doing it herself, and then complains about how the demons keep coming to her. But I enjoyed the inclusion of Ceri – she’s an interesting character and knows an awful lot of things due to her being the familiar of Algaliarept. I thought Rachel’s outsmarting of Al was well-done, although I was a little confused during the reading of it. It wasn’t until after the fact when Rachel sort of explained it to herself/Ceri that what happened actually made sense. This series suffers from some editing issues.

What I really enjoyed about Every Which Way But Dead was the explanation of how vampires and scions work in Harrison’s world, and the intricacies of vampiric politics in general. It certainly explained how Ivy became the way she is, and why Piscary was able to have such a big influence on her behaviour in the first place. I also enjoyed Kisten’s actual personality coming through and showing his full personality without the influence of Piscary. He and Rachel make a nice pairing.

One particular plot point that worked well was trying to figure out who was really the bad guy in this book – Trent, Lee (Stanley Saladan) or someone else. As much as Trent can be kind of a jerk, I don’t think he is truly evil. He certainly has very flexible morals, and doesn’t appear to mind destroying things that are in his path, but I don’t think he is truly evil. Lee on the other hand, is perfectly capable of being properly evil.

[kimbacaffeinate]

another great read. Harrison grabs you in the first few pages and the ride is awesome. character develpoment is great and I am eager to read book 4.

[ibeforem]

I really like this series. In this entry, there’s a *little* less danger for Rachel and a little more romance. Along the way, there’s a lot she’s learning about herself, even if she sometimes doesn’t like what she learns. There’s less Ivy and Jenks in this book, and I kinda missed Jenks, but at least Rachel wasn’t fending off Ivy every other chapter. There’s also a new character introduced into Rachel’s life, and I’m curious about what sort of role David the Were will play in the future.