UNDEAD AND UNDERMINED by Mary Janice Davidson

Undead Book 10
Publisher: Berkley Books
Date published: July 2011
ISBN: 9780425241271
Fantasy/Chick Lit
Trade Paperback
Reviewed by Tammy
Obtained via: publisher


The tenth book in Mary Janice Davidson’s popular Undead series, UNDEAD AND UNDERMINED, is an inane and confusing back and forth time traveling vampire zaniness.

In the last Undead book, vampire Queen, Betsy, and her sister, the Antichrist, took a trip to Hell and ended up time traveling to the future where Betsy was none too pleased with the way her future turned out. In UNDEAD AND UNDERMINED, Betsy is back to present day only to find that she has inadvertently altered history.

This reader has read all of Mary Janice Davidson’s outrageously funny Dead books and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them; but this one not so much. UNDEAD AND UNDERMINED was confusing at best, and a somewhat “jump the shark” attempt at worst. On the positive side, Betsy is still the selfish, flaky and slapstick vampire that we have come to love, but in this book she realizes these traits will wreak serious havoc in the future for those she cares about if something isn’t done. All the characters we enjoy so much are back. Jessica is eating for two these days and at least one character that this reader enjoyed in prior books (and was killed) reappears.

On the negative side, this book left this reader feeling as if watching the opening scene from that season of Dallas where Pamela finds Bobby alive and well in the shower after he had been killed off in the season prior. Characters that were killed off in prior Dead books reappear, personalities have changed and designer shoes have turned to (gasp) clogs! It just seemed that Davidson had written herself into a corner and thought the only way out was to revise book history. This reader didn’t like it when Dallas “jumped the shark” and didn’t enjoy it here either. And of course, there is never enough Sinclair (but that may just be my love of Sinclair talking). That said, when the next Dead book comes out, chances are I will still be picking it up. Why? Because one less than stellar book does not lessen the appeal of the zaniness that Mary Janice Davidson brings to each of her books. Here’s to hoping that Davidson regroups, realigns and reigns once again as the queen of chick lit in the next Betsy adventure.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.