** spoiler alert ** 
 2.5 Stars. 
 Normally I love Diana Rowland books, but this one just didn't click as well as the others in this series. The thing that I loved about this story is that it was about someone who most people would classify as a loser - a drug addict with no ambition to change her life and a willingness to let herself be abused - who managed to change her life. This installment shows that Angel never really grew or changed, it was just that the drugs stopped affecting her. When Angel realizes there are zombie friendly drugs available she immediately uses her new part time job (the one that she only got because she proved herself to be a reliable asset for The Tribe) to score drugs. The first part of the book is all about her sliding right back into her addictive habits. 
 This completely changed her character from the previous books. Before, Angel kept a three month supply of brains in a freezer just in case something happened. It showed her growth and her ability to think about the future and plan ahead. Now, she ran through the entire supply because using the drugs meant she needed more brains to keep up. Meanwhile her job at the morgue, which supplies her with brains, is in jeopardy and all she can think about is her next hit. 
 If this were the story of a drug addict's struggle then that would be another thing, but this is supposed to be the story of someone who changed. All I learned is that Angel never changed and the minute she was given an option to be a druggie again she went for it. Never mind all the positive things that have come from cleaning up her life and all the people who have come to believe in the new Angel. Her lack of willingness to follow through with her commitment to change plus her ridiculous cockiness about it is making me dislike the character, and it is rarely fun to read about a main character who is irritating. Another thing that frustrated me was how the other characters dismissed Angel's new drug habit by saying they shouldn't have exposed her to a drug that would work on her zombie metabolism and how they should have watched out for her. 
 The message I got out of that is that it is impossible for someone who was once an addict to ever cleanup their life on their own without someone removing all types of temptation. Although, to be fair, Angel's dad - who does not have the benefit of a zombie metabolism and has many more years of addiction behind him - was able to keep clean all on his own without as much outside support. I realize that in real life addicts rarely get clean on their first attempt, but I thought I was reading the story of someone who cleaned up for real, not someone who stayed clean until they had the opportunity to go back to drugs, which is why this storyline was disappointing and frustrating. 
 Even after the drug addiction story line cooled off, the murder mystery wasn't that great. Given how much Angel has come to know and even trust law enforcement officials, and even have personal friendships with some, she still chooses to protect her ex's friends rather than turn them in for murder immediately. Again, it feels like regression in Angel's character and it is frustrating to read rather than enjoyable. 
 I don't really feel like this book moved the overall series plotline ahead much and it felt a bit random. Pietro and Marcus barely appeared which may be part of why I felt the story was slowing down. Actually most of the side characters that really make these stories enjoyable were barely there. Nick had a bit more character development than the previous books which was nice, and the romance that was hinted at between him and Angel kind of started to appear. Other than that, there wasn't much that was memorable about this book. I'm really hoping the next book in this series is more in line with the first few installments.