Deliverance
Mortal Path, Book Three
Dakota Banks

Harper Voyager
March 27, 2012 / 9780062049988
Fantasy
Amazon

Reviewed by Jan Fields

Maliha Crayne is older than she looks -- centuries older -- but she's ready to walk the mortal path. After hundreds of years serving as an assassin for a demon master, Maliha must now save one life for every one she has taken to free herself from the demon and from eternal life. The Mortal Path is anything but easy, and now Maliha's choices are affecting those around her -- the humans she loves. Now she must kill or watch someone she loves be killed bit by bit. As a trained assassin, Mahila can seriously kick butt but it's a whole different game when she's up against another demon assassin.

Since the Mortal Path has weakened her, there's a nice sense of tension with the storyline. Sure, we know she's going to win in the end, but we're never really sure just how many of her friends are going to make it to the end with her. Dakota Banks does a great job of making us care about Maliha and her friends. Also, the moral struggles that Maliha must deal with as she balances her decision not to be enslaved, not to be an assassin against her deep commitment to her friends is handled with gravity and grace. This is another book where I joined the series late, but I had no trouble slipping right in and following the action from the first page. It's a slightly darker, far less quippy heroine than urban fantasy usually serves up, and well worth the reading time. But fair warning -- one book will not be enough of this gripping series.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Dark Time, Book 1     [review]
Sacrifice, Book 2        [review]
Deliverance, Book 3   [review]