CRIMSON VEIL, book fifteen in Yasmine Galenorn's convoluted yet vastly entertaining Otherworld series is told from Menolly's point of view. Galenorn's device of telling each book from a different sister in turn helps keep each book in the series fresh, while remaining true to the central narrative carried throughout the series. This, in my opinion, makes the Otherworld series one of Galenorn's best. (She also writes the Indigo Court and Fly by Night series, and wrote the now-complete Chintz n' China and Bath and Body series.)

With their father missing, war rampant in the Otherworld and more problems from a powerful demon Earth-side, the D'Artigo sisters barely have time to breath between scenes, as usual. This frenetic pace is broken here and there with time at home with extended family and there is also a lovely bit of growth within Menolly's relationship with Camilla to add to the pleasure of a new book in a favorite series. It is very much worth backtracking if you have not read earlier books, even though there are a staggering fourteen previous installments because the full pleasure comes from watching the stories of the sisters and their loved ones unfold, book by book.

Yasmine Galenorn just doesn't miss. CRIMSON VEIL adds to the intensity without shortchanging the overarching story lines previously explored in the Otherworld series' earlier books, bringing a reader just as much escape with its scenes of kick-ass fighting against immeasurable odds, while still exploring more of the relationships between characters we have grown to love. Book sixteen, Priestess Dreaming is due out in September 2014.

Book Summary

We're the D'Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae ex- operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked good witch with three gorgeous husbands. Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. And me? I'm Menolly, a vampire married to a scorching hot werepuma. And right now, we're facing enemies on all sides...

It's been a long and devastating week. Back in Otherworld, war has decimated the elfin city of Elqaneve, our father has gone missing, and Shadow Wing has managed to obtain another spirit seal. On the home front, somebody burned down my bar, the Wayfarer, killing eight people, including a friend.

To make matters worse, we still haven't found a way to stop Lowestar Radcliff-the daemon in charge of a supernatural corporate power grab. He's attempting to awaken Suvika, the lord of vice and corrupt businessmen, and we have to stop him. Our enemies are closing in on all sides, and this time, there's no place to hide...