This is a historical fiction novel. The main story is about Bill Giovanni, a bartender at Kelly’s Bar in Sunnyvale that his uncle John Kelly built in 1933. Paul, a hermit like regular at the bar always keeps to himself in the back booth typing on a laptop. When he doesn’t get up for his regular 2nd pitcher of beer Bill checks on him and finds him dead, choked on a peanut. Bill takes the laptop before calling 911. When he arrives home Mary, his wife, ask about the computer. Bill tells her what happened and he is going to pawn it tomorrow. Mary begs him to let her have it as they would never be able to afford one. Mary finds a fantastic novel on the computer, about espionage and murder at Space Key, the Silicon Valley high tech company, where she happens to work, and tells Bill. He wants to know if it is worth anything. She says yes but an unknown author could never get a publisher. Bill makes a plan to divorce Mary and have her sue for community property rights to the novel for publicity.
I’m Sam Quinn, the newly married werewolf book nerd owner of the Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar. Clive and I are on our honeymoon. Paris is lovely, though the mummy in the Louvre inching toward me is a bit off-putting. Although Clive doesn’t sense anything, I can’t shake the feeling I’m being watched. Even after we cross the English Channel to begin our search for Aldith—the woman who’s been plotting against Clive since the beginning—the prickling unease persists. Clive and I are separated, rather forcefully, and I’m left to find my way alone in a foreign country, evading not only Aldith’s large web of hench-vamps, but vicious fae creatures disloyal to their queen. Gloriana says there’s a poison in the human realm that’s seeping into Faerie, and I may have found the source. I knew this was going to be a working vacation, but battling vampires on one front and the fae on another is a lot, especially in a country steeped in magic. As a side note, I need to get word to Benvair. I think I’ve found the dragon she’s looking for. Gloriana is threatening to set her warriors against the human realm, but I may have a way to placate her. Aldith is a different story. There’s no reasoning with rabid vengeance. She’ll need to be put out of our misery permanently if Clive and I have any hope of a long, happy life together. Heck, I’d settle for a few quiet weeks.
A “master class in storytelling and survival.” —Publisher’s Weekly (starred review) Welcome to The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar. I’m Sam Quinn, the werewolf book nerd in charge. I run my business by one simple rule: Everyone needs a good book and a stiff drink, be they vampire, wicche, demon, or fae. No wolves, though. Ever. I have my reasons. I serve the supernatural community of San Francisco. We’ve been having some problems lately. Okay, I’m the one with the problems. The broken body of a female werewolf washed up on my doorstep. What makes sweat pool at the base of my spine, though, is realizing the scars she bears are identical to the ones I conceal. After hiding for years, I’ve been found. A protection I’ve been relying on is gone. While my wolf traits are strengthening steadily, the loss also left my mind vulnerable to attack. Someone is ensnaring me in horrifying visions intended to kill. Clive, the sexy vampire Master of the City, has figured out how to pull me out, designating himself my personal bodyguard. He’s grumpy about it, but that kiss is telling a different story. A change is taking place. It has to. The bookish bartender must become the fledgling badass. I’m a survivor. I’ll fight fang and claw to protect myself and the ones I love. And let’s face it, they have it coming. *** The reviews are in: "Kelly (Welcome Home, Katie Gallagher) introduces fierce, lovable heroine Sam Quinn with this master class in storytelling and survival. Seven years ago, Sam was attacked, raped, and forcibly turned into a werewolf, putting an end to her life as she knew it. She’s since made a home for herself in San Francisco, opening a combination bookstore/bar catering exclusively to the supernatural community. A loner by nature and still contending with her trauma, she’s content to lie low without a wolf pack of her own. But when dead bodies begin piling up across the city and Sam receives a threat from an unknown source, she finds herself surrounded by a phalanx of friends she never realized she had. Among them is Clive, the leader of the city’s vampire community, whose good looks attract Sam “like a zombie to brains.” Kelly pulls off an impressive feat, weaving the sensitively handled story of Sam’s emotional recovery through a rollicking adventure. The unique setting and endearingly quirky side characters only add to the charm. Readers will delight in both the humor and the heartache of this powerful urban fantasy, and they’ll be eager to see where Sam goes next.” (Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)) "This action-packed paranormal series launch will appeal to readers who enjoy a plot-driven, female-centric journey of growth with a side of romance. Great for fans of Patricia Briggs’s Alpha and Omega series.” (Book Life (Editor’s pick))
Duane the polar bear and the other animals of the very, very far north find their friendships deepening as they are challenged by the arrival of a contentious weasel and an unexpected departure.
I’m Sam Quinn, the werewolf book nerd owner of the Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar. Things have been busy lately. While the near-constant attempts on my life have ceased, I now have a vampire gentleman caller. I’ve been living with Clive and the rest of his vampires for a few weeks while the Slaughtered Lamb is being rebuilt. It’s going about as well as you’d expect. My mother was a wicche and long dormant abilities are starting to make themselves known. If I’d had a choice, necromancy wouldn’t have been my top pick, but it’s coming in handy. A ghost warns me someone is coming to kill Clive. When I rush back to the nocturne, I find vamps from New Orleans readying an attack. One of the benefits of vampires looking down on werewolves is no one expects much of me. They don’t expect it right up until I take their heads. Now, Clive and I are setting out for New Orleans to take the fight back to the source. Vampires are masters of the long game. Revenge plots are often decades, if not centuries, in the making. We came expecting one enemy, but quickly learn we have darker forces scheming against us. Good thing I’m the secret weapon they never see coming.
“Kelly introduces fierce, lovable heroine Sam Quinn with this master class in storytelling and survival.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review on The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar "Dynamic supernatural characters fuel a riveting tale.”—Kirkus Reviews I’m Sam Quinn, the werewolf book nerd owner of the Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar. Clive, my vampire gentleman caller, has asked me to marry him. His nocturne is less than celebratory. Unfortunately, for them and the sexy vamp doing her best to seduce him, his cold, dead heart beats only for me. As much as my love life feels like a minefield, it has to take a backseat to a far more pressing problem. The time has come. I need to deal with my aunt, the woman who’s been trying to kill me for as long as I can remember. She’s learned a new trick. She’s figured out how to weaponize my friends against me. To have any hope of surviving, I have to learn to use my necromantic gifts. I need a teacher. We find one hiding among the fae, which is a completely different problem. I need to determine what I’m capable of in a hurry because my aunt doesn’t care how many are hurt or killed as long as she gets what she wants. Sadly for me, what she wants is my name on a headstone. I’m gathering my friends—werewolves, vampires, wicches, gorgons, a Fury, a half-demon, an elf, and a couple of dragon-shifters—into a kind of Fellowship of the Sam. It’s going to be one hell of a battle. Hopefully, San Francisco will still be standing when the dust clears.
