A Wolf at the Door

by K.A. Stewart

Published by: Roc

Rory’s Rating: 

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Jesse James Dawson was once an ordinary man until he discovered that demons were real, and fighting them meant putting his own soul on the line. His new case is a beauty: Gretchen Keene, a Hollywood starlet who’s become an unwitting catalyst in an all-out demon war. It’s not her soul Jesse needs to protect, but the two-hundred-and-seventy-six others she’s carting around–all the souls sold to spend just one night with the blonde bombshell. That’s a lot of baggage, although it might explain her meteoric rise to fame. And it’s all up for grabs by the demon world.

All Jesse has to do is keep her safe until New Years. Sounds easy. But darkness is casting a nasty shadow in the California sun–a new unseen enemy is closing in and leaving Jesse to wonder, how do you fight something you can’t see coming?

Rory’s Review:

Jesse owes a favor to a demon, this does not please him, but he owes it rightfully enough. So when Axel comes to claim that favor, Jesse knows he must do it, even if it’s Christmas and his wife will be mightily angry. Axel’s favor seems simple enough, keep Hollywood starlet Gretchen Keene safe until New Years. Gretchen’s beautiful, so beautiful in fact, that 276 men have sold their souls to spend one night with her – and now she totes them around. Souls, however, make demons more powerful and 276 souls are so powerful they’d be worth starting a war over. Gretchen must be protected at all costs, even if Jesse knows key information is being withheld from him.

Jesse is a sharp, witty protagonist who provides plenty of entertainment and snarky commentary. Even when he seems miserable and dense, you know deep down he is a good guy. It keeps the series from taking itself too seriously and gives it an added bit of humor. This combination of factors is what makes the Jesse James Dawson series better than your average urban fantasy novel.

The third entry into the series, A Wolf at the Door, has Jesse working for the other side protecting the obnoxious Gretchen Keene – even if she demands no protection (and Jesse has no idea exactly who he is protecting her from). The mystery and the villain were a tad obvious, but the climax of the novel was not what I thought and it ended in a completely surprising manner – so the obvious identity of the villain was forgivable in light of the fantastic twist at the end.

The Jesse James Dawson series features humor, wit, action, adventure and a snarky protagonist. Jesse, while a demon fighting champion, is also an old school good guy and dedicated family man trying to do the best he can without all the answers. This is definitely a series worth checking out if you enjoy a sharp, fast-paced urban fantasy or enjoy a witty protagonist. They do not need to be read in order, but I think it is worth doing so (A Devil in the Details (Jesse James Dawson #1), A Shot in the Dark (Jesse James Dawson #2)).