Review – Poison Fruit (Agent of Hel, Book 3) by Jacqueline Carey (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Release Date: October 7, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0451465313
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Agent of Hel series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the 3rd (and final) book in the Agent of Hel series. It was a good book, I didn’t realize it was the last in the series. However, it does tie things up nicely. This has been a fun urban fantasy that is a bit on the lighter side. As mentioned in reviews of previous books of this series, this book definitely isn’t up the writing quality of the Kushiel’s Dart series….they are just very different types of books.

Daisy Johanssen is Pemkowet’s liason to the Goddess Hel, she is also half demon spawn. The town of Pemkowet is still reeling from the events of Halloween (in the 2nd book Autumn Bones). Then a new threat appears. People are being attacked in their nightmares by a horrible witchy hag. However that’s the least of Pemkowet’s problems; someone is snapping up land all around Hel’s domain and suing the city for Halloween damages. Is this the end of Pemkowet? Will all of its otherworldly residents have to find somewhere else to live?

While this hasn’t been my favorite urban fantasy I have still really enjoyed all of the books. The town of Pemkowet is a fun one to read about. I love the idea of otherworldly residents only being able to dwell above a supernatural nexus of sorts. I also love the idea of old Gods dwelling beneath the earth’s surface and making their homes there. Additionally I enjoy the Midwestern setting of this series.

Daisy is a pretty upbeat heroine with some heavy parental baggage. I haven’t really loved her in the last two books, however this is the book where she really gets intriguing. Daisy has been fighting to not claim her demon spawn side because it will mean the end of the world. She battles with that a lot in this book and it made her into a much edgier and intriguing character. I was a bit disappointed to find out that the book Daisy finally gets interesting is the last one in the series.

We do get to spend a lot of time with the sexy zombie/Outcast Stefan. I love the idea of the Outcast and we learn a lot more about that in this book. The idea of the Outcast is something I wish Carey had explored in a bit more in depth. We learn a lot more about Stefan and his past in this book. Cody (the werewolf) is still in the book as well. Daisy and him are very on again, off again throughout. They love each other but Cody is supposed to mate with another werewolf to continue to that species.

Given the above this book is not really a romance it is much more urban fantasy. There is a lot going on with the mystery demon spawn that is buying up land around Pemkowet. That paired with the evil Night Hag attacking people in their dreams make this a fast-paced book with a well done plot.

I loved how everything was tied up here, even if it did feel a bit rushed at the end.

Overall a fun urban fantasy read. I would recommend to those looking for a lighter urban fantasy with some fun ideas and characters. It’s nice that this is a three book series. I think this was the best book of the bunch and am a bit disappointed that everything is just getting interesting and then the series is over. If you liked the first two books I think you will be pleased with this one.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge