"This Case is Gonna Kill Me" http://www.amazon.com/This-Case-Gonna-Kill-Sep-04-2012/dp/B009CRYJH2/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360705336&sr=1-4 is unique in the oversaturated urban fantasy area. Its an enjoyable blend of the action packed legal thriller set in a re-imagined present day world filled with vampires, werewolves and elves. It’s a winning combination.
The vampires and other supernatural creatures came out of the “closet” and have risen to powerful positions in society, owning industry, running their own law firms, and now interacting openly with their former “prey”. The world has learned to accommodate these monsterous captains of industry. There are restaurants with security screens for vampires who want to feed on select donor humans “au natural” and rich humans who seek power and congress with the vampires and wolves.
Linnet Ellery, a top graduate from Yale Law School, has a lot of history with vampires because her rich family, who can trace their lineage back to signing the Declaration of Independence, fostered her at 8 years old with a powerful vampire.
Now, she has just joined a prestigious "white fang" law firm, but, instead of working directly with the vampire elite, she is relegated to helping Chip Westin, an older human associate, with his 17-year old probate litigation between the heirs of a dead werewolf’s fortune. Chip's clients are the former wife and children of the werewolf. Meanwhile, prior to his death, the werewolf bit Deegan, one of his employees in his billion dollar Securitech business, and converted him into a werewolf, thereby making Deegan his immortal heir. Chip has assigned Linnet to re-read deposition transcripts and other documents in the huge case file to see if there is anything she can learn to help his case against Deegan.
Linnet is an engaging character. She understands the culture of the vampires while not falling victim to their power. Phillipa Bournikova casts her in rich settings, wearing rich clothes, training and riding expensive horses and understanding how the rich live. She has also already proved her mettle by outing a lothario vampire of the firm, who illicitly seduced her and the other woman lawyers at the firm. She soon finds herself having to prove herself against werewolves as well.
One night, while reading the file, she witnesses a werewolf attacking Chip. As a result of a strange set of circumstances (more on that later), Linnet barely escapes with her life, while poor Chip is eviscerated. Asssigned Chip’s case files, Linnet doggedly tries to pierce together why Chip was killed and how it connects to the case.
She quickly finds a cryptic note showing that Chip learned of another possible claimant to the estate, a daughter of a stripper, who knew the dead wolf. Could Chip have been working with them against his own clients' interests. A seedy lawyer claims that he even drafted up a new Will leaving the entire estate to the daughter, but while bargaining with him, they are attacked by another wolf. Again due to odd circumstances, Linnet somehow escapes while the lawyer is slain.
Calling on the services of John O’Shea, an elvin private investigator, who independently works for the firm, Linnet must use her legal acumen to try to obtain a good settlement from Deegan for her clients, while also saving the stripper and her daughter from Deegan’s wereworlves. It’s a thrill ride, with bare knuckle escapes from the wolves, negotiations with John’s elvin mother and romantic entanglements plus smart lawyering on this case and others. And to top it off, we are left with the impression that Linnet’s otherworldly escapes from the werewolves were the result of some unknown power. There is obviously more to Linnet than a hot bod and a big brain.
It’s a treat.
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