Another Kind of Dead (Dreg City #3) by Kelly Meding

Once again, must everyone thinks that Evy Stone is dead but as with the first two books in this series, it doesn't last long.  It all begins with a eathquake caused by two battling fae.  Wyatt calls for information about what is happening but he is stymied by the triads and he and Evy are ordered to sit by the phone. When a fae shows up at their door after being wounded by some kind of biological experiment both Evy and Wyatt are drawn into the struggle.

You would think that with everything that happened in As Lie the Dead and Three Days to Dead, that the triads would just stop assuming that Evy is dead.  I guess the whole fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me thing doesn't apply here.  At any rate, this time Evy is desired for her ability to heal.  Walter Thackery, a scientist who lost his wife to vampirism is determined to find a cure for it and then sell it to the highest bidder.  This should have placed Thackery on the same side as the triads, but the violent methods that he is willing to undertake puts them firmly at war. The problem is that I found it hard to care about Another Kind of Dead.

From the very first novel in this series, Evy is filled with Kellie Independence and Spunky Agency. I can to some degree forgive the Kellie Independence as the triads have tried to kill her on several occasions and there is clearly corruption in the system; however, her constant impulse to quickly slug someone is irritating. Even though it has only been a few weeks in the books, by book three, as a reader I expect to see some sort of growth in a character, but Evy remains exactly the same. I will however say that I am glad that Meding continues to portray Evy having PTSD from the horrible torture that she has suffered.

As Lie the Dead by Kelly Meding Book 2 of Dreg City

 

As Lie the Dead, begins exactly where Three Days to Dead ended.  After surviving a vicious battle, All Evy wants to die is sleep for a week.  Evy wants time to deal with her feelings for Wyatt but more important to deal with being in Chalice's ( this has got to be the worst name ever) 

body permanently and the loss of Alex. Unfortunately for Evy, the rest she so desires and deserves is simply not in the cards for her.  When she is approached by Phin, an owlkin theorian who asks for her protection for the next few days.  Believing that she is at least partly responsible for the near extinction of the owlkins Evy agrees only to discover that Phin and the counsel want the death of the handler Rufus.  Evy is now caught between the debt she feels that owes both men.

If that were not enough, someone in the triads has decided to turn their back on humanity and gather therians for an assault.  The Triads numbers are low and they are desperate to stop the assault before it happens.  Evy must get to the truth behind the origins of the Triad to discover the sickness which has caused one of their own to turn against humanity.

As Lie the Dead was packed with action from the very beginning. I must admit that this is something that doesn't particularly agree with me.  I prefer character development and in this story, it really felt squished in between fights. I really liked that Evy continued to struggle with her new body and her rough childhood rather than having these issues being cast aside to deal with the problems at hand.  As a character however, Evy seemed barely able to maintain control of herself.  Sarcasm dripped from her tongue and her constant desire in a moment of conflict was to punch someone.  She didn't always act on this impulse but the repetition of the impulse did become irritating the more it appeared.  Evy also rushed headlong into situation without thinking and deeply resented anything that kept her away from the action.  I am hoping that as this series goes on, Evy will mature out of this.  It is possible to be a person of action and think though you wouldn't believe that from reading a lot of urban fantasy.