An Easy Death

I just happened to see this title on the display at the Albuquerque public library and was so excited about a new series from Charlaine Harris. In spite of the dreadfully pulpy, gorey and over-sexed translations of two of her series (Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight, Texas) into TV serials, I think she is a really good writer who creates atmospheric settings, complex characters, and engaging story lines. This book was no exception and I raced through it in a day. In an alternate version of history, Franklin Roosevelt has been assassinated and many others have succumbed to the influenza outbreak, and the United States as we know it no longer exists.  Other powers have rushed in to fill the void. Mexico has annexed portions of the south, Canada has invaded from the north, the original 13 colonies have re-aligned with Great Britain, and the Tsar in exile from Russia has claimed large parts of the west. There are a cluster of new independent countries including Dixie, New America (the upper plains), and Texoma, the setting where the book opens.
Gunnie Lizbeth Rose, our 19-year-old protagonist is a hired gun, daughter of a woman who was raped by a grigori (wizard); Lizbeth has since hunted down said wizard and killed him. Now she is part of a crew that protects people who want to move away from what was formerly Texas to new homes further north or east. But on this fateful day, they are ambushed by an overwhelming force of bandits; her 3 crew members--including her best friends and her lover--are killed and Gunnie is left for dead. The migrants have been kidnapped but since they are hauling all their belongings and their children, she eventually catches up and kills the bandits. After delivering her "clients" to their new home, she returns to Segundo to recover. However, her respite is cut short by two wizards who have come to hire her to help find a descendant of Rasputin, Oleg Karkarov, whose blood may be able to save their ailing Tsar. Gunnie Rose tells them she knows for a fact that the man is dead, but neglects to mention that she is the one who killed him (her father). She agrees to help them find his brother or even possibly his rumored child. But opponents of the Tsar are determined that they shall not find anyone who can potentially keep the Tsar alive and in power, and they send an interesting stream of other wizards and enchanted creatures out to kill Gunnie Rose and her two client wizards. Suffice it to say that Lizbeth survives and even gets a new refrigerator out of the whole deal, but not without paying a price. I hope this is the beginning of a new series because this is a wonderful character and plot line. Glowing reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.