by Cyn Bagley

Created on: February 10, 2009

Although "At Grave's End" is the third book in the Night Huntress Novels about Cat Crawfield, Jeaniene Frost is a newcomer to the vampire genre. And, her writing has developed since her first book "Halfway to the Grave." Frost is finally showing her abilities as a novelist.

Frost's protagonist Cat Crawfield is a creature of legend, half-vamp and half-human. Her mother had been wrapped by a newly formed vampire. Because the vampire was newly formed, his sperm was still viable. Assuredly Cat is probably the only one of her species. Of course, Cat's mother hates vampires. Cat's father not only raped her, but also killed her parents, Cat's grandparents. In the first book, Cat used her body and blood to seduce vampires so that she could kill them, until she meets Bones.

Basically Bones civilizes Cat and shows her how to kill evil creatures. He even teaches her that not all vampires are evil. Part of Cat's problem in the first two books is that she really believes that all vampires are evil. By "At Grave's End" Cat has finally become comfortable in her skin and is actually with Bones. Near the beginning of the Bones, he proposes marriage.

However, Bones has some problems too. A vampire from his past wants to kill him. And yes, it is a she. Patra was a witch before she was a vampire... and she uses Egyptian magic that turns the dead into vengeful spirits. These spirits have to have died violently and before their time. On Cat and Bones side is Mencheres, an old vampire, who was married to Patra. He does not want to use the taboo magic that Patra uses.

There are twists and plots and all sorts of red herrings. Frost has done a fine job in creating this story. One major side-plot is the turning of Tate into a vampire. Tate has been following Cat around for years, especially during the time when she was away from Bones. He believes that he loves Cat. Of course, vampires are territorial... and Bones does not like having Tate trailing Cat. When Tate is turned into a vampire to help Cat and Bones, the tensions become worse.

Also Cat is involved with a secret government agency that assassinates deadly creatures such as vampires who have gone rogue. The skills she gained from doing this job will help Cat find Patra.

When I read Frost's first book, I wasn't sure that I liked the Cat character. However, in this book, Cat has matured into a fine heroine. I would read more.

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