The Hunted (Vampire Huntress Legend Series #3) » (First Edition)

L. A. BANKS is the author of the Vampire Huntress Legend series. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a master’s in fine arts from Temple University. Banks considers herself a shape-shifter. She has written romance, women’s fiction, crime and suspense, and of course, dark vampire huntress lore. She lives with her daughter in an undisclosed lair somewhere in Philadelphia. You can visit her at www.vampire-huntress.com or crimsonmoonnovels.com

With Minion and The Awakening, L.A. Banks broke new ground in the erotic vampire milieu, dazzling readers with her intricately crafted plots and unforgettable characters. Now, Banks returns with another stunning tale featuring the Vampire Huntress Damali Richards...

THE HUNTED

Each millennium brings a new Neteru, a vampire huntress whose mission is to vanquish evil from the world. This millennium's savior has come in the form of Damali Richards, a hip-hop diva with the heart of a warrior and an attitude to match. But a war in Hell has cost Damali both her powers and her past love, Carlos Rivera. Still, Damali can't let her grief stand in her way. Several gruesome deaths, starting with an American research team, have come to Damali's attention in Brazil. The nature of the deaths leads Damali to believe that the killer is anything but human...

Unknown to Damali, the life of Master Vampire Carlos Rivera was saved by a most unlikely group: a band of monks also dedicated to fighting the Dark Realm. In exchange, they want Carlos to help stop the inhuman murders plaguing Brazil-and they will use Damali as bait if they have to. Reunited, Damali and Carlos give in to the erotic passion they have fought for so long. Together, they are a powerful force. But Damali has made a terrifying enemy who won't rest until the beautiful Neteru is dead...

"An exciting series...Banks fleshes out the rich world Damali and her friends and enemies inhabit, making it an even more exciting place to visit. Another thrilling tale."

-Booklist

"A terrific roller-coaster ride."

—Charlaine Harris, USA Today bestselling author of Dead to the World

(the Southern Vampire series)

Visit the Vampire Huntress Legend Web site at: www.vampirehuntress.com

Publishers Weekly

In Banks's third overheated hip-hop vampire thriller (after Minion and The Awakening), Damali Richards, a vampire huntress (or "Neteru"), reconnects with her vampire lover Carlos Rivera, whom she thought was killed in the previous novel but who's now serving a penance for his vampiric misdeeds within a modern-day Knights Templar stronghold. In Brazil, where were-creatures have been terrorizing a portion of the rain forest, Damali and Carlos encounter a female vampire possessed, via were-cat infection and flesh-eating, by the bitter memories of a 500-year-old Neteru who lost her life to raping and pillaging conquistadors. Carlos is tempted by the female vampire's offer of joint rule, and Damali must battle to stop an alliance between renegade vampires and demons that promises catastrophe for were-demons, vampires and humans alike. The hip-hop turn to the book's prose alleviates the tedium of a stock genre plot, while the well-conceived and intricate rules of Banks's vampire-inhabited world provide endless opportunities for riffs on the meaning of power and sex that will please lovers of similar purplish philosophical musings found in the vampire tales of Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton. Agent, Manie Barron. 4-city author tour. (June 1) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.