SALT AND SILVER – Anna Katherine
A Perfect 10
Tor Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-6304-6
ISBN-10: 0-7653-6304-6
May 2009
Urban Fantasy

Brooklyn, New York – the Present

You have to love a story where the heroine tells you straight off she has a door to hell in the basement of her diner. In Brooklyn no less -- where else would you absolutely expect to find such a portal?

Six years ago, her mom ran off with her tennis instructor and all the family assets, forcing Allie to find a job. She found work at Sally’s Diner. Luckily, her rich friends, Amanda and Stan, didn't desert her. Together they opened the door to hell on the first night she worked at the diner. They were drunk, and Amanda fashioned a magic spell as an entertaining joke. Poof! The door appeared. Ten minutes later, sexy, demon-hunter Ryan entered the basement to guard the door. He’s been hanging around the diner ever since, tantalizing Allie with desires for a closer relationship, a situation Ryan avoids. Between demon killings, things have progressed in good order; that is, until the door disappears. Then doors start opening all over New York, threatening the world’s existence.

Doors to hell are desirable; they give you whatever you want, but their gifts come at a terrible cost. It’s true; doors have always existed here. Each leads to a different hell. But too few or too many doors will destroy the world. Sorry for her part in opening her door, Allie tries to help Ryan kill the demons leaving her basement. With the world as Allie knows it in danger, and her lost door somehow involved, she goes with a few demon hunters, including Ryan, through a door to hell to try to find the answer on how to close the doors. The problem is, once you enter one door to hell, you must enter nine before you can return.

With a smart, sassy, and brave heroine whose life has changed dramatically, SALT AND SILVER makes a clever, action-packed story. Allie prefers work to her previous idle lifestyle, and she enjoys it with cheeky attitude. Ryan makes a strong, dedicated hero who annoys Allie no end. Remarkable secondary characters contribute important aspects to the business of closing the doors to hell. A fast paced and humor-laced story, SALT AND SILVER deserves RRT's Perfect 10. Oh, FYI: salt protects and silver heals. It’s all magical stuff too good to miss.

Robin Lee