Something Deadly This Way Comes
By Kim Harrison
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
I'm Madison Avery, in charge of heaven's hit squad . . . and fighting it all the way.
When Madison died the night of her prom, she knew her life would never be the same. Now she has a powerful amulet, a team of rogue angels by her side, and the ability to flash forward into the future to see the shape of destiny. And of course, now she's finally with Josh—a perfect boyfriend who doesn't even mind that she's dead.
But being dead has its disadvantages, too. Madison feels caught between the light and the dark, and between her real life and her timekeeper status. When Madison has the opportunity to get her body back—to be alive again—she faces her most difficult decision yet. If she claims it, she could return to being a normal girl—and have a chance at a real relationship with Josh. But would having the one thing she wants most in the world also mean giving up everything she's worked so hard for?
Kim Harrison
Kim Harrison is best known as the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series, but she has written more than urban fantasy and has published more than two dozen books, spanning the gamut from young adult, accelerated-science thriller, and several anthologies and has scripted two original graphic novels set in the Hollows universe. She has also published traditional fantasy under the name Dawn Cook. Kim is currently working on a new Hollows book between other, nonrelated, urban fantasy projects.
Read more from Kim Harrison
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Reviews for Something Deadly This Way Comes
86 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hope there are more to come!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I've had an interesting relationship with Kim Harrison. I read the first book in the Rachel Morgan series a few years ago, and was only lukewarm toward the series. After reading a few more books I became hooked, and was a Kim Harrison/Rachel Morgan fan. So, I decided to check out her young adult series, Madison Avery. I was honestly not that excited about the series at first, but it grew on me as it went on. So, since I had gone this far, I decided I should at least finish out the series.Something Deadly is a satisfying conclusion to Madison Avery's story. Ever since the beginning, Madison had been working as a grim reaper with her own team of rogue angels to help save souls and battle the dark. It's a fate that Madison have never been entirely happy with, and when she has the choice to change her entire future, she finds herself caught between her new life and the one she lost.In a strangely short volume, Something Deadly gives Madison the choice she never had, and wishes she did. Just like the previous novels, Something Deadly offers an interesting world with an enjoyable protagonist who gets the job done. A lovely, fun and easy paranormal read, Something Deadly may not be one of the best books out there I've read, but it's a worthwhile read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What I enjoyed most was that my daughter could read this series also.
It gave us something to talk about.
She really enjoyed the book.
It is well written and Kim Harrison is one of my favorite authors. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Kim harrison as an author and this series is a different spin on life lessons and how to truly live with a purpose. It made me think by pointing out how little decisions are large determining factors in the end result of your life. Excellent I will recommend this series to any YA reader. I really hope there are more to this series.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I absolutely love Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, but I don't think she has the knack for being a young adult writer. I don't think it's really her fault, she just doesn't know how to write a teenage character. How many teenagers say "Puppy presents" instead of just swearing? For a girl that's supposed to have broken a ton of rules and be a wild child, her language sure is mild. But I digress.In this novel, (third and final in the series), Madison is still trying to save souls instead of being responsible for reaping them. Her intentions are noble, but her methods are very childish. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her and tell her what to say. She's trying to save a young girl's soul as well as saving her life. Basically, she just frightens her throughout the entire book.This book has a LOT of myth in it, and it's definitely necessary to have read the first two previous novels in the series before starting this one. The idea of saving a soul versus saving a life is very interesting, and quite a dilemma. I can see how difficult it would be for a 17 year old girl. The whole mythology of angels, seraphs, and timekeepers is also quite unique and I definitely respect Kim Harrison for coming up with such an original idea. Barnabas, Nakita and Grace, Madison's angel friends, are probably my favourite part of the book. They're quite opposite at their core, but they both share Madison's point of view and are extremely supportive of her. Josh is fine as a romantic lead, but a little dull for my taste.All in all, it's an all right book if you wanna kill some time, but I definitely regret investing my time in this series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the third book in best selling Harrison's Madison Avery YA series. Madison was a normal teenager until she died on prom night. Now she's a Dark Timekeeper who works for Heaven--she tells the Dark Reapers when to go and get a soul. However, she's not crazy about the policies around this, and she's actually fighting with the Seraphim for the ability to help more humans before their souls are reaped. It's not as religion oriented as it sounds--it's very action packed and has not small amount of Harrison's cheeky humor (and very little of her trademark sexiness--she saves that for The Hallows series for adults). There is a strong current of morality, responsibility, initiative and being true to yourself throughout this whole series that is uplifting as well as entertaining. I highly recommend the entire series.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Okay. So the story of this trilogy is pretty good. BUT I saw some major continuity issues. In the first book there was a character named Lucy and a dog named Sandy, Nakita white wings and Barnabas had grey wings. In book two Nakita had black wings and Barnabas had white wings. And in the third book, the dog's name changed to Lucy! It seems like they went through this book with such a cursory editing eye that details slipped through... The details may seem small but if an author can't keep her OWN fictional facts straight, then how can I believe the story?
Like I said, the story is pretty okay. It has good moments and it has chaotic moments and it has moments that you can't stop reading. I'm glad I read it. But it's not something I'd read again. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/52.5 I tried, I wanted to like it, I wanted to support one of my favorite authors. But the main character Madison, was too immature, too selfish, got my ;last nerve twitching. I just couldn't get past my dislike of her to enjoy the story. It is a shame , I liked the side characters and the plot was interesting.
It just didn't work for me. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Guys! This book was pretty good. I actually enjoyed reading this one. Usually the last book in a series is my least favorite, but when it comes to this trilogy, it’s my favorite.I can’t tell you why I enjoyed this one more. Surprise, surprise. Why do I write review? I can never tell you what I like or dislike. Anyway, the only thing that got me through the first two were the funny moments and there weren’t really any in this one. Out of the three books, this one is the most serious and the least funny. Maybe that was what I was in the mood for.Overall, I’m glad I finally read this trilogy, but I probably will never re-read it. However, Kim Harrison is still one of my favorite authors and I will still re-read The Hollows series and give her new series, The Peri Reed Chronicles, a try.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Synopsis: Madison still maintains that people can change so their souls don’t have to be ‘harvested’ early. Her conflicts with the power of dark and light, the guardian angels, and the seraphs continue, but she gains confidence in her decisions and abilities.Review: This novel, although aimed at a teen audience, is interesting and entertaining. The characters are well developed, as is the plot.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Something Deadly This Way Comes is a fun quick read.The characters were well developed and had great chemistry between them!A great story! I enjoyed reading it and am very interested in reading the beginning of the series! I recommend this book!! A fun read!! ♥:)
Book preview
Something Deadly This Way Comes - Kim Harrison
Prologue
I’m Madison Avery, dark timekeeper in charge of heaven’s hit squad . . . and fighting it all the way. Funny how timekeeper never popped up on my careers good for you
when I did the test at school. The seraphs say I was born to the position, and when the choice was take the job or die? Well . . . I took the job.
Fate,
the seraphs would say. Bad choice
if you ask me. Even now I don’t believe in fate, and so I’m stuck working with a confused dark reaper who is trying to understand, and a light reaper twice fallen from heaven who thinks my ideas are a lost cause. Instead of just following orders sent down from above, I want to do things my own way, which involves trying to convince people to change. My only hope is to locate my real body so I can give the amulet back and forget the entire thing happened, because convincing heaven that I can save lost souls is looking impossible. It’d be a lot easier if my own people weren’t working against me.
Chapter One
The hot sun seemed to go right through me, reflecting off the aluminum bleachers to warm me from my feet up as I stood beside Nakita and cheered Josh on. He was running the two-mile in an invitational, and they were doing the last bit right on the track. The front three runners had begun to pick up the pace for the last hundred yards. Josh was ahead, but the guy behind him had saved some push for the last bit, too.
Go, Josh! Run! Run!
Nakita yelled, and surprised, I lowered my camera to look at her. The dark reaper didn’t especially like Josh—she’d almost killed him once—and her excitement was unusual. Her pale face was flushed, and her eyes, usually a faded blue, were bright as she leaned forward and grasped the chain-link fence between us and the track. She was wearing a pink top with matching pink nail polish to hide her naturally black nails. Open-toed sandals and capris helped her blend in, and she looked nothing like one might imagine a dark reaper, capable of smiting
lost souls.
I was dressing down today—at least for me—in jeans and a black, lacy top. My hair, though, was its usual purple-tipped cut, hanging around my ears, and I still wore my funky yellow sneakers with their new black laces with skulls on them. They matched my earrings.
He’s right behind you!
the angel in disguise shouted, and her matte-black amulet sparked violet at its core. More evidence she was excited. Shaking my head, I turned back to the race, bringing my camera up and focusing on the finish line. I snapped a picture for the school paper as Josh squeaked over the finish line. My smile was full of a quiet satisfaction that he’d won.
He won! He won!
Nakita exclaimed, and I gasped when she pulled me into jumping up and down with her. I couldn’t help but give her a hug back, breathless as I caught my balance. She certainly wasn’t acting like one of heaven’s hit squad, as excited as if she was Josh’s girlfriend. Which she wasn’t. I might be. Maybe.
Barnabas.
Nakita shoved his feet where he reclined two rows above us. Josh won. Say something!
The former light reaper pushed his hat up and gave her a dry look. Whoopee,
he said sarcastically, then pulled his long legs closer and sat up, squinting in the sun. Madison, you were going to work with me today on hiding your amulet’s resonance.
Grimacing, I looked down at the jet-black stone cradled by silver wires that I wore around my neck. Besides giving me the tactile illusion of a make-believe body, hiding me from black wings, and giving me my connection to the divine, my amulet sang. Sort of. Mimicking a natural aura, the black stone rang like a bell that only the divine could hear. Anyone who knew how to listen could find me in a second—be they friend or foe. Which might be a problem if I was out trying to keep my own people from killing someone, and which was why I needed to learn how to hide it. After hanging out with Josh, of course.
She can do that later,
Nakita said primly. He won!
I felt a twinge of guilt. I had promised to work with him after school, but I’d forgotten I’d also promised Ms. Cartwright I’d take pictures of the track meet for the school paper.
Sorry,
I said softly, and he shrugged, making no effort to hide his boredom.
For all his sour attitude, Barnabas had been on earth longer than Nakita and therefore had all the subtle nuances of human behavior to fit in with the track moms and cheering girlfriends better than Nakita. His lanky build and faded T-shirt only added to his sigh-worthy looks, but Barnabas truly didn’t have a clue how good he looked. Nakita didn’t know why guys followed her around looking for dates, either. That the two of them hung out with me had the popular cliques cross-eyed.
This was his only race,
I offered hesitantly, and Barnabas leaned back, stretching out on the warm bleacher to put his hat over his face.
Turning back to the track, I snapped a picture of Josh as he accepted the congratulations of his teammates. Sweat made patterns on his shirt, and his blond hair was dark with it. He was the only one apart from Barnabas and Nakita who knew I was technically dead; not only had he been there as I had died, but he had held my hand during the whole thing. Yep, I was dead: no heartbeat unless I got excited or scared, no need to eat—though I could do it in a pinch to fit in, and I hadn’t had so much as a nap in months. It had been fun at first, but now I’d give just about anything to enjoy a juicy hamburger and crispy fries. Everything sort of tasted like rice cakes.
I didn’t know you liked sports,
I said to Nakita as Josh waited for the runners to pass before crossing the track to talk to us through the fence.
We have contests,
she said. This has the same appeal.
Her gaze went from the runners to the moms chatting among themselves, barely conscious of the meet at all. I came in third once, with the blade,
she added.
Barnabas snickered, his face still hidden under his hat. Real good with that scythe, eh?
he muttered, and she smacked his foot.
And where did you place?
she asked him hotly.
Sitting up, Barnabas watched Josh, his eyes not seeing him but the past. They didn’t have contests when I was in heaven.
I winced. Barnabas had been kicked out of heaven before the pyramids had been built.
Sorry,
Nakita said, surprising me with her downcast eyes. She usually took every opportunity to needle Barnabas about his fallen status. According to Nakita, Barnabas had been kicked out of heaven because he’d fallen in love with a human girl.
Hi, Josh,
I said as he scuffed to a halt behind the chain-link fence.
Almost lost that one,
he said, breathing heavily. When he smiled at me, I felt warm inside. We’d been dating for a while, and his smile still hit me hard. And his kisses, even more.
But you didn’t,
Nakita said, back to her serious self again. It was a good run.
Josh gave her a quizzical look, probably wondering at her earnest expression. Thanks,
he said, then wiped the sweat from his neck. I hadn’t sweated in months. Not since I’d died.
Is that your last race?
I asked, already knowing.
Yup.
Josh waved to the guy calling him from the finish line. I gotta go, but do you want to go to The Low D with me later?
The Low D was the local hangout, short for The Lowest Common Denominator. Three Rivers was a college town, and the students got the joke even if no one else did. His eyes rose to take in Nakita and Barnabas. All of you?
he added somewhat sourly.
It was hard to find the time to be alone with Josh between school, my dad, my job at the flower shop, and don’t forget being the dark timekeeper, stealing every free moment of my day and night. One might think that not needing to sleep would give you tons of time, but it didn’t.
Already guessing my answer, Barnabas sighed from under his hat. It was likely going to be after sundown before I practiced shielding my amulet’s resonance. But a quiver went through me, and my heart, or at least the memory of it, gave a hard thump and went still. Sure,
I said, smiling. Small word, heavy in significance.
Josh stuck his fingers through the mesh, and I touched them. Josh and I had been through a lot together, especially considering our rocky start when I was his pity date at prom. We were doing good now, even with the dark timekeeper stuff butting in. Smiling with half his face and looking charmingly beguiling, Josh pulled back, finally turning to face his friends as he walked away. Nakita was scowling when I turned around.
You promised Barnabas you’d practice,
she said, surprising me.
It’s okay to put off practice to watch Josh run, but it’s not okay if I want to socialize a little?
I asked.
Absolutely.
It was reaper logic, and I knew I couldn’t win. Sad thing was, she was probably right. Turning away, I sat on the bleachers to wait for Josh. Barnabas was behind me smelling of feathers and the back of clouds—and yes, the back of clouds do have a smell. Ignoring me, Nakita went to stand at the fence, watching the stragglers come in. I wondered if she ought to go out for cross-country, then squashed the idea. She was here to protect me from myself, not learn how to run the two-mile.
But all thoughts of practice and The Low D left me when, without warning, a blue ink seemed to pour from the sun, hitting the earth and boiling up like smoke. It bled across the ground, washing over people oblivious to it, turning me cold. In the time it took to pull my head up, the blue had risen to encompass everything.
Puppy presents on the rug. I’m going to flash forward.
My heart gave a pound and stopped as a quick wash of fear slid into me. The last time I’d flashed forward to see the future, I had cried at the stars and felt like I was going to die. Then I fell into someone else’s mind and lived out the ugly moment when they began to kill their own soul. That had been almost a month ago, and I didn’t know what scared me more: that I might have to live through that hell again, or that the seraphs were giving me another chance to prove that killing a person wasn’t necessary to save their soul—and I might screw it up?
According to Grace—my annoying, often missing guardian angel and heavenly liaison—although the seraphs didn’t cause my flash forwards, they could stop them or make them come early, sort of screen them to make my transition to a fully functioning dark timekeeper easier. It wasn’t like I had a real teacher, having been dumped into the position. You’d think that the seraphs themselves would take on the job of assigning reaps permanently, but apparently angels had a hard time figuring out what was now, what was then, and what was to be, and it took a human to understand time. I happened to be in charge of the bad guys, the ones who killed people before they killed their souls. I’d rather be in charge of the light, who tried to stop the killing, but that’s not what had happened.
Voices faded in and out through the blue mist as I waited for the future to take me. Madison, you can practice at The Low D,
Nakita said, kicking the fence to make it shudder. The distraction will be good. Barnabas, it’s no wonder she never learns anything with you, teaching her at midnight on her roof.
I clutched at my knees, terrified that if I moved, I’d find myself convulsing on the ground. The moment when a soul begins to die is traumatic, and it rings through the time lines and into the future, causing the flash forwards. The deeper into the future, the hazier the vision is, ranging from a crystal clarity to a murky nothing that only voices could penetrate. Which meant that if I was the first timekeeper to flash forward I didn’t necessarily have the advantage. Ron, the light timekeeper, might flash later, but clearer, and pull the reap right out from under me.
Guys?
I whispered, and then gasped when the entire track with its runners, coaches, and blue lawn chairs was suddenly superimposed with a scene that was possibly a hundred miles distant and probably days into the future. And though I clutched at the ribbed heat of the aluminum bench, I also stood on a chalk-decorated sidewalk, staring at a three-story apartment building with old cars out front and a busy road behind me, traffic at a standstill. There was fuzzy blue haze at the edges of my vision and around every person, like a second aura.
The night was an awful mix of orange and black as the building burned, flames leaping high to show clusters of neighbors huddled together, dogs barking, and people screaming. Fire trucks spewed air scented with diesel fuel to the curb, which billowed up and warmed my ankles. Roaring. Everything was roaring. And then I realized it was the blood in my head as heartache gripped me.
Johnny is still in there.
The thought echoed in our shared mind. Terror that belonged to the girl whose body I was in filled me, and I felt myself stand, wobbling on the bleachers. I was flashing forward, living someone else’s nightmare. This was when her soul started to die, when something so bad happened that she forgot how to live. I was the only one who might be able to save her.
Johnny!
I shouted, and Nakita turned to me. I could see her shock, and the image of a burning building grew behind her and melted into the reality of the track meet.
She’s flashing,
I heard Barnabas say, and his hand clamped over my arm, keeping me from running forward as the girl whose mind I was in bolted.
In my vision, I ran through the cars, dodging firefighters trying to stop me, the blue haze rising from people like a fog. In reality, I felt my heart pound as I locked my knees and swayed so I wouldn’t run as well. I left Johnny alone. He was asleep. I waited until he was asleep after Mom left for work. Oh, God. Mom is going to kill me when she finds out! I don’t understand. How can there be a fire?!
Johnny!
I whispered as the girl screamed, then jumped when a heavy hand clamped onto my arm, and both the girl and I turned.
I blinked, wavering when I saw Barnabas behind the frightening image of a fireman in full gear, his breath hissing as he tried to keep me from going in. The crowd in the bleachers was standing, cheering on the last of the runners fighting it out. In my vision, the fire screamed, a surreal counterpoint to the terror filling me. Barnabas’s hand was on my arm, and he peered at me in sympathy.
Johnny is in there!
I said, and the fireman stared, his expression hidden behind the face mask. Let me go. Let me go! I have to get in there!
As one, the girl and I twisted in Barnabas’s/the fireman’s grip, and as one, we were hoisted into their arms. I tried not to fight, knowing it wasn’t real, but the girl’s terror was mine.
I had no heart to beat in my solid, make-believe body, but memory is a funny thing, and I felt the echo of a pulse as Barnabas carried me, taking the jarring steps down the bleachers and to the cooler shade below. The night bathed my heated cheeks, scorched by sun and fire as Barnabas set me on the ground, and the blue haze that clouded the image of the distant future billowed from the fireman, but not the angel. I’m sorry,
both Barnabas and the fireman said, for two different reasons.
Behind the fireman, I could see an ambulance. The lights were off and I felt my life end when they put a small, covered body into it. The sheet was pulled over it all the way. For an instant, she didn’t know what that meant, but I’d been in a body bag before, and somehow, when nothing I was thinking could reach her, this did.
Oh, Johnny!
we sobbed as the reality hit her. In my vision, I started to cry as I watched the flames eat the roof of my room, but my tears were for Johnny. He was gone, and I cried for both Johnny and his sister as I had a vision of his round face and Transformer pajamas. He’d had fish sticks for dinner. I had been so mean, eating the last one when I knew he wanted it.
I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,
I sobbed, my throat tight as I hunched against the bleacher support/side of the fire truck. Nearby was a fireman, giving me half his attention so I wouldn’t run away. Nakita was superimposed on him, making sure no one came close enough to know what was going on. Behind her, the blue sun shone down on the track meet. They were preparing to set up the next race amid the blaring of loudspeakers and the honking of trucks as a new water tanker came in. My brother was dead. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have left him alone.
I got up, or at least I did in my vision. I was starting to find the way to dissociate myself from it so I could just watch, making the heartache in the girl easier to bear. Barnabas holding