Dawn Madison may be a former Los Angeles stuntwoman, but she is also one hell of a vampire hunter. Underground London is the latest location where she and her team have set up headquarters in their dangerous hunt. An efficiently trained and organized group of teenage vampires is leaving a disastrous trail in their
vicious wake; through them, Madison and her team may finally find the long-sought secret lair of a master vampire.
Madison may be one of the best, but her team would be nowhere fast without the leadership of her master vampire lover, Costin, on the hunt for the other masters in an attempt to save his own soul. Determined to be independent, Costin attempts to wind his way through the maze of terror that leads to the secret lair. Madison knows, however, that Costin is putting himself in more danger than he can comprehend and
that their mission will fail before it ever begins.
One of London’s master vampires is secured in a holding cell of the hunters; utilizing his knowledge will take their hunt to a new level. Keeping such a high-stakes prisoner is never easy, as time will soon show. The teenage vampire posse has found the trail that leads to the prisoner.
The victors who walk away from this prison break may lose much to gain what they are after. Can one master vampire really be valuable enough to risk all that?
Trouble brews outside the safe confines of Madison’s hidden headquarters; too bad a devil lurks within their midst as well. They are unprepared for the damage that can be wrought by a most unsuspected member of their party. The signs are all there, pointing at the enemy within, but their focus is too distracted to see them. Costin’s life—his very soul—is almost certainly doomed forever by this traitor’s unleashed vengeance upon headquarters, and all the souls within.
Deep In the Woods is author Chris Marie Green’s sixth novel in the
Babylon series, which is broken down into two trilogies: Hollywood Trilogy and London Trilogy. Dawn Madison and her team are followed throughout the
books as the individual storylines all contribute, piece by piece, to the completion of the overall story
arc that limps along with each new novel.
Readers starting in on the series with Deep In the Woods
get enough background to follow along front to back. The characters transition smoothly enough for new and old fans, yet some of the
complex relationships built throughout the series are not grasped as easily. These complexities actually prove to be a barrier in liking the characters and novel for what it is. While any of the books in a series such as
Night Huntress by author Jeanine Frost are easy to pick up and start reading from, the
Babylon series is not afforded such transitional grace.
As most vampire novels go, the dark and deadly are out en masse against a foe misjudged as weaker, but the good always wins out in the end…to some degree. Blood, guts and lots of violence are key to any vampire novel; Deep In the Woods is no exception.
Despite some flaws, entertainment can be found in the pages of this novel. Readers won’t be bored as the unexpected is revealed throughout.