Confession time, when I first read the blurb about the next Kitty book, I spluttered and I stuttered. A reality show? Really? In Kitty's House of Horrors, Vaughn's lead character, midnight DJ and pop culture celebrity, Kitty Norville agrees to appear on TV's first all-supernatural reality show. She's expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shape shifters, vampires and psychics. However, her publicity stunt soon turns into a fight for life.

I have never been a fan of reality television, yet I found myself reading the 'staged' sequences of the book with an eagerness that bordered on voyeurism. Vaughn gathers some of the more interesting characters that Kitty's encountered in previous novels including stage magician Odysseus Grant and ghost hunter Tina while adding a few more to the mix. Kitty's nascent skepticism and snark keeps the commentary amusing even as the unease and worry grows.

What I found fascinating is even though Vaughn tells you via Kitty that this reality show is going to turn into a horror show, the horror of it is a cold, dark insidious thing that strips away the complex characters to their cores -- revealing basic, raw emotion that is painful and engaging at the same time. Without revealing what happens, I will say that the author surprised me more than once and I love how she keeps adding new dimensions to the relationships between the readers and Kitty.

If you enjoy urban fantasy with quality humor, a touch of romance and just the right amount of horror, this is the series for you. High marks for Kitty's House of Horrors. If you haven't jumped on the Carrie Vaughn train, pick up The Midnight Hour and get started, you have a wonderful journey in front of you.

Book Summary

REALITY BITES Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed to appear on TV's first all-supernatural reality show. She's expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt will turn into a fight for her life.

The cast members, including Kitty, arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set. As soon as filming starts, violence erupts and Kitty suspects that the show is a cover for a nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty realizes she and her monster housemates are ironically the ultimate prize in a very different game.

Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in . . . before it kills them all.