Vicki Pettersson

Joanna Archer is working hard to put the painful events of her recent past behind, doing her best to embrace mortality after being superhuman. But when she is stalked by a madman, she is forced to dive back into Vegas’ underworld to piece together shocking discoveries about the mother who abandoned her, the lover who betrayed her, and the daughter who will follow in her footsteps. But in order to win back all those things, she must face off against a death-dealer who carries his soul in a blade… one that’s screaming her name.

The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac Joanna Archer, Agent of Light, has survived a violent initiation into the paranormal world lurking behind the seedy seams of Las Vegas. She’s found a home, friends, and even the chance for a new life and love. But evil never rests, and to save her beloved city, and herself, Joanna must venture into a new world hidden among the shadows, one where the line between good and evil is barely visible, every agent is a rogue … and each breath could be her last.

Originally appeared in the print anthology Unbound. Following the slaughter of his parents, J.J. became an Agent of the Light. But now, in Vicki Pettersson's Dark Matters, his love for the beautiful killer who spared his life transforms the fierce defender into the most perfect predator of all.

New Year’s Eve is a night of celebration and remembrance for some … but for others it’s a time to forget. While the years might pile up easily behind vampires Ina and Alexander, the memories do not. Forgetting is the price they must pay for the gift of eternal life, but Ina and Alexander will do anything to stay together … and for that they must remember the blood. Previously published in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.

It’s high summer in the Mojave Desert, and Kristine Rush and her fiancé, Daniel, are en route from Las Vegas to Lake Arrowhead, California, for the July Fourth holiday weekend. But when Daniel is abducted from a desolate rest stop, Kristine is forced to choose: return home unharmed, but never to see her fiancé again, or plunge forward into the searing desert to find him…where a killer lies in wait.

New York Times bestselling author Vicki Pettersson continues her breakout new supernatural noir mystery series as a fallen angel and a reporter team up to stop a drug cartel After learning his wife survived the attack that killed him fifty years earlier, angel/PI Griffin Shaw is determined to find Evelyn Shaw, no matter the cost. Yet his obsession comes at a price. Grif has had to give up his burgeoning love for reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, the woman who made life worth living again, and dedicate himself to finding one he no longer knows. Yet when Grif is attacked again, it becomes clear that there are forces in both the mortal and heavenly realm who'd rather see him dead than unearth the well-buried secrets of his past. If he's to survive his second go-round on the Surface, Grif will have to convince Kit to reunite with him professionally, and help uncover decades of police corruption, risking both their lives... and testing the limits to what one angel is really willing to give for love.

Originally appeared in the print anthology Holidays Are Hell. New York Times bestselling author Vicki Pettersson brings a former superhero—an elite Zodiac warrior—back to the mortal world for a Thanksgiving reunion with her equally hated and beloved enemy, to do battle for the lives of her imperiled children.

Griffin Shaw and his wife were both murdered fifty years ago. Now a minor angel, Grif's been granted permission to solve the mystery of his own death... if he helps the Pure angels guide those souls who might otherwise be Lost. Souls like Jeap Yang, a drug addict in his final moments of life. Grif knows that death is coming, but he cannot intervene. However, Grif's mortal lover, reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, isn't constrained by angelic protocol. If she can stop a death, she will. But as Kit is about to find out, there are things more traumatic and evil than murder. A strange new drug is literally eating tweakers' flesh from their bones, and Kit's crusade to get it off the streets is set to propel her and Grif into a battle with a vicious drug cartel. They'll have to scramble to stay alive, stay together, and choose their own fate... before it's chosen for them.

The Final Sign of the Zodiac Once she was a soldier for the Light, the prophesied savior who would decide the outcome of the eternal conflict raging in the dark corners of her glittering hometown. Now Joanna Archer is just another mortal – still born of an impossible union of Shadow and Light … still hunted by both – and carrying the unborn child of a lover held captive by a depraved demon goddess. Joining forced with a band of rogue Shadow agents, Joanna’s ready to storm the stronghold of her demonic foe, risking everything to enter this ghastly, godforsaken realm. Because in a world that has stripped her of her power, identity, and fortune, Joanna has nothing left to lose – except her baby, her future, and the epic war poised to consume the city.

When she was sixteen, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert. By rights, she should be dead. Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset—a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow—seeking answers to whom or what she really is . . . and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure. But the nightmare is just beginning—for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful shadows want her for their own . . .

“Exceptional. Mystery, crime scene drama, and more than enough romance to keep the heart pumping blend seamlessly into an enthralling read that kept me glued to the pages.”—Kim Harrison “A delectably dark paranormal thriller. I’ve always been a fan of Pettersson’s work, but she knocks it out of the park with this one.”—Kelley Armstrong Vicki Pettersson, author of the New York Times bestselling Signs of the Zodiac urban fantasy novels, breaks out with The Taken. The first book in her sexy, supernatural noir mystery series, Celestial Blues, The Taken features a former p.i.-turned-fallen angel and a beautiful, tough Las Vegas reporter—the most unorthodox pair of avengers since Jeaniene Frost’s Cat and Bones—joining forces to confront a terror that threatens to wreak murderous havoc in both the mortal and the immortal worlds. A dark and delicious mix of noir mystery, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance, The Taken is a must-read treat for the insatiable fans of Nalini Singh’s angel books, and for the many, many readers who have made Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Laurell K. Hamilton fantasy superstars.

The Second Sign of the Zodiac Being mortal isn’t easy. Being a superhero is even harder. Even mortal, Joanna Archer was nobody’s idea of a victim. But now, infused with the supernatural power to alter the battle between Shadow and Light forever, what she’s become is a target. And when a toxic virus invades the valley, her allies are targets are well. To find the cure that will save them, Joanna must embrace her Shadow side … even if it leads her into an all-out battle with the demons of her past.

The Third Sign of the Zodiac Joanna Archer has reluctantly accepted the roles destiny assigned her: Avenger, Savior … Destroyer. On the surface she’s a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans can’t see and could never enter … a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both. She never asked for the mantle that’s been thrust upon her, but she will not abandon it now that it’s hers. Stalked by an enigmatic doppleganger from a preternatural realm, Joanna can feel the Light failing – which is propelling her toward a terrifying confrontation with the ultimate master of evil, the dark lord of Shadow: her father. Vegas is all about winning big – or losing everything. To save her friends, her future, her worlds, Joanna Archer will now have to gamble it all by fully embracing the darkness inside her.