Vampire and spy, Daphne Urban, knows that something is wrong when she is attacked by vampire hunters while walking her dog. Little does she realize that this is only the start of her problems....

Daphne and her cohorts, the Darkwings, are called in for a top secret mission that the government feels only its vampire spies can handle. A ship has literally disappeared without a trace. Is invisibility an option? Meanwhile, vampire hunters are back in New York City as is Daphne's old lover, Darius della Chiesa. Is there a correlation? Daphne is going to have her hands full with this latest tale.

Savannah Russe cranks up the heat in her latest Darkwing Chronicles book! The tension level is higher than every as Daphne feels pulled in every way. Who can she trust? Some secrets are beginning to be revealed, shedding light on past events but there are more questions than ever as Daphne tries to unravel the mysteries within mysteries that she finds herself in. Savannah Russe ensures that there are no dull moments in UNDER DARKNESS as the fast paced plot will have readers anxiously turning the pages.

The other members of the Darkwings are starting to really emerge with their own unique idiosyncrasies. Audrey Greco takes center stage among the secondary characters and it is fascinating to see how she is developing. I don't want to reveal spoilers but there is a scene involving indexers (not to be confused with librarians) that is a sheer classic. In fact, this scene may rank among my all-time favorite scenes in a book! 

Savannah Russe takes a dicey political situation such as terrorism and puts it in the context of an urban fantasy series. She does a beautiful job at making all the elements of the storyline work without falling into political rants or offending any one political group. Kudos to Savannah Russe for creating an urban fantasy series that is current, relevant, and thought provoking without being offensive.

UNDER DARKNESS is the fifth book in the series. While the mission Daphne and her fellow vampires are sent on is essentially a stand alone, there are threads running throughout this series that make this book best appreciated if read in order. In particular, the relationships between Daphne and various characters, such as Darius, have been building throughout the series and so nuances may be missed by new readers.

Reviewed by Debbie

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Posted May 2008