Anna was in fine form during the entirety of this novel. She is perceptive and emotionally astute and uses these skills in a kindly manipulative way. I can appreciate this gift of strength just as much as the genre-traditional badass biker chick cliche.

That being said, the antagonist of Dead Heat is unclear and lacks a convincing edge of villainy. Only two of the child victims are given any semblance of personality (

and both come through the ordeal relatively unharmed

); over time, it becomes difficult to feel the horror of nameless deaths in an attic. The reveal of the fae at the climax of the novel seems like a run to the finish line without the requisite warm up.

The subplot of this novel is one that is common in most series after the main relationship is resolved - the issue of children. It is something I have come to dread, because the notion has little appeal to me and my fictional choices are all about escapism.