Skinwalker by Faith Hunter : Review

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps…

Urban fantasy has quickly become my favorite sub genre of fantasy these days, the only bad thing about it is there is so much available now that at times it is difficult to sift through all the bland or mediocre stories to get to the really good stuff. Sometimes I will try and read two or three books a week only to toss them aside after just a few chapters for one reason or another. However with Skinwalker by Faith Hunter I was hooked from the very first page, it quickly turned into yet another book I was unable to put down until I finished it. I will learn one day not to start a new book at 10pm at night when I know if I like it I will read it until 6am like I did with Skinwalker.

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifter, the last living skinwalker in all the world — or so she thinks. When a rogue vampire starts killing people in the heart of New Orleans Jane finds herself hired by Katherine Fontaneau, the proprietor of the brothel Katie’s Ladies and one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans, to hunt down and kill the rogue vampire before it becomes a PR nightmare for the vampire council. Oh, and she has 10 days in which to do if she wants to receive her full pay and a bonus on top of it. To complete her job she will have to accept help from wherever she can get it, all while fighting off the Beast within who wants nothing more to take control of the hunt.

One of the things I loved most about this story was the fact that other than our shapeshifting heroine there were only vampires and witches in the story. It was a nice change to read some urban fantasy where you are not provided with a bunch of different supernatural creatures to learn about and keep track of. While Jane and the rest of the world may only know about the vampires and the witches hints are dropped all throughout the book that there may be other races hiding out in the world still.

It was also nice not to read some urban fantasy where the focus was not on sex or romances, Jane Yellowrock is in town to get her job done and she has no time for anything that may get in her way. I think anyone who enjoys the Dresden Files or Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson books will love this book as much I do. I have already bought the next two books in the series and I plan to start the next one soon, never mind the fact that I know it will keep me up till early tomorrow morning.