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One More Bite

Jennifer Rardin

Published 2009           312 pages

Summary (from the book jacket)

It's Jaz Parks checking in, with the latest in dark supernatural double-dealing.

I've already smoked the guy who was the pain in the CIA's you-know-what for the past few years. But now, in the power vacuum left by the death of Edward "the Raptor" Samos, a struggle for supremacy has begun between his former allies.

The CIA feels the balance must be maintained. So when a Valencian Were agent discovers a plot to assassinate the Coven of Inverness' leader, me and my vampire hottie (and boss) are drafted in. Our mission - to take out the woman hired to do the deed, a killer who might be as wily and Gifted as ourselves.

So it's off to the Scottish Highlands for some twisted fun among murderers, demons and half-crazed relatives. Sometimes being a top-secret CIA assassin isn't all it's cracked up to be.

The Review

One More Bite is the fifth outing for the CIA’s top supernatural assassin, Jaz Parks. While each story in the Jaz Parks series is a separate adventure for Jaz and could be read on its own, new readers would do well to check out the earlier novels in this series rather than diving straight in here since there is a long running story arc (the hunt for/assassination of Edward Samos) that reaches across all of these books.

One More Bite is narrated in first person by Jaz and is the tale of her latest madcap mission - which is to identify and kill the assassin known only a Bea, who has been contracted to kill Floraidh, the evil leader of a coven of Scottish witches.

This mission doesn’t sit well with Jaz’s conscience since it is usually her job to kill supernatural bad-guys, and Floraidh definitely qualifies for a bad-guy death by Jaz’s usual moral standards. Still, Jaz is a professional so if her boss says that Floraidh must not be murdered then she will put her personal feelings aside and kill Bea, the mysterious snake-wielding assassin, instead.

Since there is no shortage of suspects who could be the unknown assassin, Jaz, Vayl and Cole soon get down to business, bugging and monitoring Floraidh’s B&B hoping that one of the B&B’s paying guests will be revealed as the assassin.  Armed with their usual supply of James Bond style high-tech gadgets, a little magic and a solid cover as professional ghost busters attending GhostCon there are plenty opportunities for mayhem even before Jaz’s family issues are added into the mix.

Somehow her parents have managed to tag along for the ride on this mission.  Albert, Jaz’s father, is the source of much of her irritation on this mission and gives her plenty of opportunities for both witty and sarcastic banter. Their relationship is both loving and difficult but this is in no way as bizarre as Jaz’s relationship with her abusive mother who is long dead but has managed to escape from Hell for the duration of Jaz’s trip to Scotland.

Still, it is the dysfunctional relationships between the characters in this story that drives the plot of One More Bite forward and provides most of the comedy entertainment for the book.  Jaz and Vayl still have yet to consummate their love affair but this is no ordinary office romance since her boss Vayl is not just a CIA assassin but also a vampire. 

One More Bite is where urban fantasy and James Bond meet and, as unlikely as that combination sounds, the results are a fast paced and fun read which shouldn’t fail to delight fantasy fans.

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