Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville, #2) by Carrie Vaughn
- Elizabeth Slaughter
- Jan 18, 2016
- 3 min read
Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville, #2)
by Carrie Vaughn
Introduction
Kitty Goes to Washington, doesn’t have the same emotional and dramatic impact that Kitty and the Midnight Hour had, but I enjoyed this it very much.
Genre / Intended Audience
Urban Fantasy. Adult violence and sexual situations, but no explicit sex.
Narration
First-person past-tense narration from the main character, Kitty Norville.
Characters
Kitty Norville -- Talkshow host of The Midnight Hour on KNOB, reluctant werewolf, and accidental paranormal expert
Cormac -- a human bounty hunter who kills supernaturals
Reverend Elijah Smith -- faith healer, head of the Church of the Pure Faith cult
Alette -- the vampire Mistress of Washington D.C.
Luis -- jaguar shifter who works at the Brazilian embassy.
Ahmed -- shifter, owner of a Moroccan restaurant, a local hangout for shifters in the DC area
Senator Duke -- head of a committee investigating the supernatural and Dr. Flemming's center
Dr. Flemming -- self-proclaimed expert in “paranatural biology”
Ben O’Farrell -- a lawyer and Cormac’s cousin
Setting
Washington DC, current times
Theme
Kitty finding her place in a wider supernatural world, while dealing with life as a lone wolf and celebrity
Plot
Kitty takes her show on the road and deals with her new life as a lone wolf. Her first big problem arrives immediately when Ben delivers a subpoena to appear before the U.S. Senate in a hearing on “paranatural” biology. Hence the name of the book – Kitty goes to Washington.
Her show has gained popularity, and the work of Dr. Fleming of the Paranatual Biology Institute has gone public, but most people believe paranormal creatures are a hoax. Before she makes her appearance in Washington, Kitty scores an interview with Dr. Fleming. Kitty’s encounters with Dr. Fleming set off alarms; it’s never clear what he is up to, yet she doesn’t feel as if he’s explicitly lying. Kitty and Cormac team up to do some sleuthing on the elusive Dr. Fleming.
When Kitty finally gets her day in front of the congressional committee, it goes just about as well as you would expect. The book wraps up with both the senator and the doctor in disgrace and Kitty as a new national celebrity.
About the Author
Carrie Vaughn is a prolific author with fourteen Kitty Norville books (including a spin off for Cormac), and two other series. She also has several stand alone novels that are well worth reading.
Find out more at
Or Carrie's website: http://www.carrievaughn.com
My Opinion
Carrie Vaughn does an excellent job of telling the story of how paranormal creatures become widely known in our modern society. Rather than one big reveal — as in many urban fantasy series — it happens in stages. The first few steps occur in the first book, and by the end of book two, a major event should end most the remaining skepticism.
Kitty Goes to Washington doesn’t have a strong focus, though it mainly revolves around Senate hearings. While in DC, Kitty picks up a few new friends (including Luis, a sexy jaguar shifter), and faces three main foes: Dr. Fleming of the Paranatual Biology Institute, Elijah Smith (briefly seen in book one), and Senator Joe Duke. There is also a vampire subplot with Alette that doesn’t feel very important.
Cormac makes an appearance, and we get the first hint of Cormac and Ben’s long relationship. Ben is now Kitty’s lawyer, but she doesn't know either of them well enough to know who they are to each other. We also get the first hint of Kitty, Cormac, and Ben as a dynamic team. Carrie Vague does an excellent job at their banter that hints at the brotherly relationship between Cormac and Ben while adding Kitty to the mix as a slightly confused outsider.
As always with the Kitty Norvelle series, the strength of the book is in the characters, especially Kitty herself. This is the story of Kitty starting her life as a self reliant adult and lone wolf.
Kitty Goes to Washington is isn’t my favorite book in the series, but I enjoyed it and kept reading the series. I give it a strong four stars out of five.
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