The Hollows

"Hello. You've reached Morgan, Tamwood, and Jenks of Vampiric Charms, independent runners."

Our history is that of humanity's. We didn't just drop out of the sky in '66; we emigrated in through Ellis Island. We fought in the Civil War, World War One, and World War Two--some of us in all three. We suffered in the Depression, and we waited like everyone else to find out who shot J.R..

But dangerous differences exist...

"We're all pulling for you. The odds are running two hundred to one you make it through the week. Personally, I give you a hundred to one."

The Hollows is an ongoing Urban Fantasy series by Kim Harrison detailing the professional and personal adventures of Rachel Morgan, bounty hunter and witch, along with her partners: living vampire Ivy Tamwood, and Jenks, a pixie.

The books are set in an Alternate Universe where various supernatural beings known collectively as "Inderlanders" have lived alongside mundane humans since ancient times, but kept their identities secret from the masses until the 1960s, when a virus from a genetically modified tomato wiped out a quarter of the human population in an event known as "The Turn". Since the Inderlanders were mostly unaffected by the virus and found their combined numbers were now close to that of humanity's, they decided to reveal themselves to the world, a move that further changed the already altered post-pandemic society.

Currently^[when?] the series consists of nine novels:

Dead Witch Walking
The Good, The Bad, And The Undead
Every Which Way But Dead
A Fistful of Charms
For a Few Demons More
The Outlaw Demon Wails
White Witch, Black Curse
Black Magic Sanction
Pale Demon
A Perfect Blood (February 2012)

As well as six short stories:

Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil
Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel
Dirty Magic
The Bridges of Eden Park
The Bespelled
Ley Line Drifter

At the time of this writing^[when?] a graphic novel is also being planned.

Warning: Due to the author's extensive use of The Reveal in the series spoilers abound.

WARNING! There are unmarked Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Tropes used in The Hollows include:

Action Girl: Rachel, Ivy
Affably Evil: A favorite trope of the series with examples including Lee, Minias, Rynn and Trent. Even Al has risen to the occasion at times.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Rachel... over and over
All of the Other Reindeer: Rachel's relationship with most other Inderlanders.
All Witches Have Cats: Rachel lives with a cat, though the cat doesn't seem to like her very much.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Piscary owned the church Rachel, Ivy and Jenks live in. He even tried to get them evicted before his untimely end. Now played for laughs as Jenks owns the church and pretends to be a strict landlord.
All There in the Manual: Several characters and plot threads that appeared for the first time in White Witch, Black Curse were originally drawn from several short stories written by the author for another series.
- The author's website also has two essays supposedly written by Rachel herself detailing some supernatural races for the FIB, David pack's tattoo and the recipe for Trent's waffles among other things here.
- The website also offers a monthly newsletter called the Hollow Gazette that includes articles written from the perspective of reporters in Hollows. These give additional details about the setting and certain events in the novel.
All Trolls Are Different
Alternate History: The history of the world the Hollows is marginally different even before the public revelation of the Inderlanders. For example genetic engineering became the focus of scientific research instead of space exploration or nuclear energy only to be banned after the 'Angel' virus epidemic. The timeline of those changes can be found here.
An Offer You Can't Refuse: A specialty of the many of the series Manipulative Bastards including Rachel on occasion.
Animal Eyes
Another Dimension: The Ever-After
Backstory: Several of the short stories of the series provide this. May provide mild forms of Retcon
Badass Bookworm: David, possibly Nick
Badass Decay: Kisten
Bad Boss: Art, Denon and Piscary
Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop: The two police organizations of the Hollows exemplify this troupe
Batman Gambit: Some characters try to plan their way to victory, and more often than not they get lost and fail.
Beastly Bloodsports: In Dead Witch Walking, Rachel is transformed into a mink and placed into bloodsport matches against other animals.
Beta Couple: Jenks and Matalina
Beware the Nice Ones: Ceri... Until she ambushes Quen and Trent and even makes the reader terrified of crossing her
Bi the Way: Ivy, possibly Kisten at least with Piscary
Big Bad Friend: Ivy was originally The Mole for Piscary until he raped her. This resulted in her turning against him.
Big Brother Mentor: Inverted as Ceri is a female mentor for Rachel
Biker Babe: Ivy owns a motorcycle and often wears leather
Black Magic: Each type of magic has a more powerful black side to it except for demon magic which is all black. Subverted in that black magic is not inherently evil but does create what is termed 'smut' on a person's aura. Despite that many people still use the presence of smut as a negative Karma Meter. Use of black magic is illegal. Later on it is revealed some witches are legally sanctioned to use it
Black Magician Girl: Ceri and Rachel later on
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Ceri, Ivy and Rachel
Blond Guys Are Evil: Trent Kalamack
Blood Magic: Charms and rituals for witch and demon magic requires blood of their species's blood to activate. This is due to the enzymes in the blood rather than a more metaphysical explanation
Boisterous Bruiser: Jenks
Book Dumb: Arguably, Rachel. Justified in that her adoptive father intended for her to never be taught Ley Line magic possibly because he knew she was part demon
Broken Bird: Ivy, Ceri and arguably, Rachel
But I Would Really Enjoy It: Rachel and Kisten in the elevator. Later Rachel and Pierce in a cave.
By-The-Book Cop: Eddens, Glen and by extension the FIB. This usually bites them in ass
Catch Phrase: Jenks's Tinkerbell-themed expletives. Rachel also uses the word swell in narrative form.
- "Don't touch the baby"
- And who could forget the Catch Phrase Running Gag in the first three books: "You look like a hooker."
Character Development: Arguably the primary focus of the series as opposed to a more traditional plot driven one. Rachel in particular
Chekhov's Gun: Subverted completely in "Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel". Pierce demonstrates some very cool magical amulets to Rachel but they are never used or referred to again- even when they would have been very useful in confronting the story's Big Bad
- A looooooonng version of this is Ivy's wish. Introduced in the first book it doesn't become relevant for another seven years. The results- not so good
Chekhov's Gunman: Art
Chessmaster: Most characters have tried their hand at this role with varying degrees of success most notably Al, Minias, Trent, Nick, Piscary, Rynn and even Rachel. Subverted in that none of their plans have ever been highly successful and killed at least one of them.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Nick
Clear My Name: One of Rachel's motivations, accomplished as of the end of Black Magic Sanction
Clingy Jealous Girl: Ivy around Rachel, Rachel around Ivy and Skimmer around Ivy, especially regarding Rachel
Cloudcuckoolander: Newt
Contract on the Hitman: Rachel was originally a runner for the Inderlander Security IS. When she quits they put a death mark on her head to make an example of her
Cool Old Guy: Keasley
Cute Witch: Rachel, sometimes. And though not technically a witch, magic using elf Ceri can be awfully adorable.
Da Chief: Eddens
Dark and Troubled Past: Rachel, Ivy and Kisten
Dark Is Not Evil: Black Magic is considered by most to be evil and produces 'smut' on the aura. As the series progresses and Rachel begins using it it seems that that it is not evil but merely harmful to the person who uses it. Even so, many people consider 'black witches' to be evil
Dark-Skinned Blond: Trent again.
Dark World: Arguably the Ever After, although it closely resembles the normal world
Darker and Edgier: Arguably the direction of the series since Fistful of Charms
Deader Than Dead: The soul of living vampire is destroyed when they become undead. When they die again they cease to exist entirely rather than go to an afterlife maybe
Deal with the Devil: A specialty of the demons, naturally
Death Seeker: Jenks briefly after Matalina's death
Defeat Means Friendship: Rachel and Quen. Inverted in that it was Rachel who was defeated.
Demonic Possession: Demons can possess people though it seems diificult for them to do so without consent. Mild subversion in that the ability is in not inherent but simply a very powerful spell. Newt attempts this on Rachel and Lee allows Al to possess him as part of a scheme for revenge on Rachel
Devil but No God: Consecrated ground and the effect crucifixes have on vampires are created by magic rather than the effect of divine influence. Demons on the other hand are very much real and very evil.
Disappeared Dad: Rachel's died when she was younger. Trent also lost his.
- Subverted in Rachel's case in that she learns that it was her adoptive father that died. Her real father is still alive
Doom Magnet: Rachel
Dropped a Bridge on Him: Minias. Word of God say that he was likely abruptly killed by Newt between two of the books
Emotion Eater: Banshees
The Empath: Ford
Everyone Calls Her Barkeep: Ivy's mother
Evil Gloating: Al, Minias, Trent and Piscary are big on this
Evil Is Not a Toy: Summoning and dealing with demons is a very, very bad idea. Several people in the series including Rachel learn this the hard way
Evilly Affable: Al
Evil Matriarch: Ivy's unnamed mother.
Evil Mentor: Piscay for Ivy and Kisten. Later Al for Rachel
Face Death with Dignity: Kisten's choice when Piscary orders his death. Slightly subverted in that he returned as an undead vampire- only to perform a Heroic Sacrifice and end up Deader Than Dead- or maybe just dead
Fairy Companion: Jenks for Rachel and Jax for Nick. Subverted in that they are pixies, the sworn enemies of the fairies
Familiar: Many witches make use of animal familiars. Demons on the other hand use humans, witches, elves or even other demons as familiars.
Fantastic Arousal Vampire have a number of unusual triggers. See I Didn't Mean to Turn You On below.
Fantastic Racism Inverted to some degree in that the greatest racists are the Inderlanders themselves. Vampires hate werewolves and vice versa but there are other mutual racial hatreds: fairies and pixies, elves and demons, banshees and everyone else. Ironically while humans are understandably wary of the prenatural abilities of the Inderlanders there has been little actual overt racism on their part
Fatal Flaw Humans, even the FIB, tend to fear being around and Inderlanders due to their association with tomatoes, which initially were the transportation vehicle for the fatal T4 or 'Angel' virus. Glenn is instantly wary of Rachel and Ivy when it's revealed they use tomatoes for cooking
A Father to His Men Literally with Eddens and Glen
Female Gaze Rachel is always noticing and describing in detail the attractive men that she meets.
Fiery Redhead Rachel, of course.
Finding Judas Nick uses his relationship with Rachel to get favors from Al- by selling him detailed information about her.
Freak Lab Accident Rachel is part demon or all demon as a result of the genetic cure for Rosewood syndrome when she was a child
A Friend in Need A common plot point
Friend to All Children Ivy has expressed her belief in a living vampire philosophy respecting children as well as injured people and others incapable of defending themselves. She also reads to hospitalized, terminally ill children every week
Friendly Enemy Trent, later Al, Newt and Minias. Arguably the demon race in general toward Rachel when it is revealed she is part demon
- Also Quen, who is probably the best example in the series.
Friendly Neighborhood Vampires Ivy, then Kisten. Other vampires, not so much
Full-Name Basis How demons typically address people.
- Demons address people based on how many of their names the demon possesses. And if the demon comes into a position of superiority, it may address a person however it wishes.
Functional Magic Mostly of the Rule, Force and Device type. A little Inherent Gift magic exists in that some demon and witch magic require enzymes from their blood to activate
Fur Against Fang played straight
Game Face Vampires' eyes go pure black and their fangs extend when overcome with bloodlust
Genki Girl Ivy's younger sister, Erica
Geometric Magic Many magicians in the series make use of magic circles
Girl of the Week Gender inverted with Marshall's brief relationship with Rachel
Glowing Eyes of Doom Despite being Shape Shifters all demons have glowing red eyes in any form. They often use sunglasses to disguise this
- However, demons can change the eyes if it is important: In Black Magic Sanction, Al takes Rachel's form complete with green eyes, when the coven summons Rachel under Al's name and expect to get her. Rachel and Al had traded names back earlier to prevent this.
Go-Karting with Bowser Despite the fact that he occasionally tries to kill her and that she occasionally attempts to put him in jail, Trent and Rachel have a rather active social life together
God Save Us From the Queen Arguably, the demon's attitude toward Newt
Government Agency of Fiction The novels' two law enforcement agencies, Inderlander Security IS which covers Inderlander crime and and its human counterpart Federal Inderlander Bureau FIB. Rachel once worked for the first and now works with the other from time to time
- The witch Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards also qualifies
Happiness in Slavery arguably, Ceri
Haunted Headquarters A ghost named Pierce revealed himself through Ford as to be living in the church for at least a year
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today? Rachel repeatedly mentions not being 'wired that way' regarding Ivy
Heel Face Turn Lee
Hell-Bent for Leather Ivy most often, although Rachel often feels and acts more badass upon wearing leather
Hemo-Erotic
Hermetic Magic
Hero with Bad Publicity Rachel, more so in the latter novels to the point she gets shunned
- She has arranged the shunning to be removed
Heroic Sacrifice Kisten
He Is Not My Boyfriend In book 10,Rachel says exactly this about Trent
Hold Your Hippogriffs "You look like the vamp who drained the cat" amongst others
Horrible Judge of Character Rachel in regards to Nick
Hot Amazon Ivy
Hot Dad Trent
I Am What I Am Rachel accepting that she is a black witch and then later, part demon. And later still, an honest-to-god legally recognized demoness.
I Didn't Mean to Turn You On Vampires can lose control of themselves if given certain 'intimate' signals by others. This was a early problem between Ivy and Rachel. There is actually a guide on how to turn on- or more importantly how not to turn on- a vampire.
I Have You Now, My Pretty Al toward Rachel until she became his student
- In a serious squick inducing way, Piscary toward Ivy
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming With the exception of Dead Witch Walking, all the novels and stories are named after Clint Eastwood movies
Immortality Seeker The motivation of the demon race. Justified in that an elven curse prevents them siring pureblood demon children and they don't want to go extinct
- It has also been pointed out the Rachel that as she has demon DNA she could also gain immortality. She hasn't decided if that what's what she wants yet
- Although it has been hinted she will live forever already by Al and I think Newt, not that they're reliable.
- Rachel herself has theorized that she and other demons gain immortality through the use of vanity curses such as her were and size changing curses as they appear to reset the biological clock back to vitality upon deactivation.
Incompatible Orientation Ivy is bisexual whereas Rachel is straight. Rachel herself in the earlier books constantly mentions "not being wired that way" in terms of sexual orientation and as a means that she and Ivy can't be together.
In Harm's Way Rachel is an adrenaline junkie and often seeks danger to feel alive. Less so now after almost getting Ivy, Jenks and even Trent killed as a result
Interspecies Romance Rachel rarely dates other witches. To date she has a relationship with a human and a living vampire. Her one witch relationship didn't end so well. This seems to be a theme. David used to date humans exclusively until he accidentally turned them into werewolves and Word of God has stated that the living vampire Ivy is dating the human Glenn
- Rachel seems to be dating witches exclusively now
Jerkass Trent, Al
Jurisdiction Friction The IS and FIB have competing jurisdiction for crimes relating to Inderlanders. Partially subverted in that the corrupt IS often doesn't care about solving some crimes and dumps them into the FIB's lap
Karma Houdini Al, Trent, Lee and Newt are examples of this trope. Al is the king of them having raped the dog publicly and loudly so often its not just Crossing the Line Twice, he's taken atrocity Up to Eleven and has no intent of stopping. Mildly subverted in that he suffered a minor reversal of fortunes in demon society. This however was due to letting Rachel live with knowledge of demon magic as opposed to any ill deed he did
- Nick could count as well, considering he's clever enough to avoid Trent and Rachel, after trying to steal Trent's priceless elf porn statue, conspiring against both of them, and disappearing from a cell in Trent's grounds, possibly all For the Lulz. Not to mention the faking his own death as an escape and then giving Rachel the focus.
Kill It with Fire Rachel burns Kisten's murderer and accomplice into ash. Subverted in that they were already dead.
- First played straight and then averted in Black Magic Sanction: Rachel, Pierce, and Ceri almost burn Rachel's garden in order to kill the fairy assassins who had invaded; Rachel breaks the spell because she doesn't want to be a killer, but by then the spell burned off the fairies' wings. When she realizes that the fairies killed Matalina, she regrets not killing them, but then she and their leader Sidereal talk, and come to an agreement in which no one has to die, and both sides have earned the other's grudging respect.
Killed Off for Real Piscary, Kisten and Matalina
Kiss of the Vampire Neurotoxins in vampire saliva can provide a blissful experience for those bitten
Ladykiller in Love Literally with Kisten and Rachel
Laser-Guided Amnesia The series has 'forget charms' that can remove specific memories. Rachel has had these used on her twice so far. That she knows of
- Subverted in that there are also Pandora charms that can restore the lost memories
Leprechaun Rachel's trying to tag one in the opening of the first book. The same one comes back in Black Magic Sanction.
Lesbian Vampire Ivy and Skimmer
Les Yay Rachel/Ivy and Ivy/Skimmer
Ley Line
Light Is Not Good Rachel discovers to her chagrin that experienced witches are quite capable of using lethal White Magic
Littlest Cancer Patient Matalina. Several literal versions of these also appear in White Witch, Black Curse to deliver a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming for Rachel and Ivy
- Rachel herself was one as a child with the fatal Rosewood Syndrome until cured with illegal genetic treatments by Trent's father
Living Lie Detector Ford
Love Redeems Arguably, Kisten and Ivy with Rachel
Luke, I Am Your Father Takata is revealed to be Rachel's biological father
Lust The motivation for most of the villains. Trent and Lee have the Lust For Power while Piscary and Skimmer seem motivated by Lust for Ivy. Rachel is often motivated by old fashioned Lust For Sex
Magic Mirror Demons and demon summoners can use enchanted mirrors to communicate with each other
Magic Misfire Due to Rachel being Book Dumb in regard to magic this happens quite a bit
Magic Wand Played straight by various witches. Surprisingly, Rachel doesn't use one
- She would if she could afford it.
- Sidenote: In The Outlaw Demon Wails it is mentioned that wands are one-spell wonders making using wands an expensive practice for someone like Rachel who values versatility.
Mama Bear Mia is a rare villainous version of this. Her mate Remus is a villainous Papa Wolf to boot. And whatever you do "Don't touch the baby"...
Manipulative Bastard The series has a number of these including Trent, Piscary, Minias, Nick, and even Rachel's had her moments.
Masquerade Upheld by most Inderlanders before The Turn.
Millionaire Playboy Trent
Mind Control Living vampire pheromones create a low level of this. This is stronger in those already infected with the vampire virus. Undead vampires can use a more powerful version of this termed 'pulling an aura'
Mind Rape Piscary does this several times to Ivy
Mind Screw A favorite ploy of the villains especially Al, Trent and Piscary
Mistaken for Gay Rachel whenever Ivy introduces her as a friend. People assume she's with Ivy in that way
Monster Mash To date the novels have included witches, vampires, pixies, fairies, werewolves, werefoxes, trolls, leprechauns, demons, elves, banshees, and ghosts living alongside humans
Motive Decay Trent. Though he claims that the motivations for his crimes is to finance his illegal genetic experiments and to save the elven race he often commits entirely unnecessary crimes such as breaking the will of and murdering subordinates, keeping Rachel trapped in the form of a mink and entering her into illegal rat fights, murdering several innocent werewolves to try to get the demon focus and various other acts unrelated to that goal
- In Black Magic Sanction Nick also suffers this with his changing sides several times for no obvious reason or profit
Must Make Her Laugh Jenks with Rachel and Ivy
Murder the Hypotenuse Skimmer's plan for Rachel
My Death Is Just the Beginning Living vampires will rise as more powerful undead vampires when slain
Naked on Arrival Pierce. Twice
- Black Magic Sanction: Rachel, after untwisting the curse that made her small, presents the priceless elf porn statue to Trent on stage. In front of a crowd. And news cameras.
Names to Run Away From Really Fast In Christian Demonology, Algaliarept is the highest ranking general of the armies of Hell.
New Old Flame Skimmer for Ivy and Pierce for Rachel
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero Ivy's well intended gift of a wish to Mia has unforeseen and horrible consequences...
Odd Couple Rachel and Ivy
Our Demons Are Different
Our Elves Are Different
Our Ghosts Are Different
Our Presidents Are Different Rynn Cormel who not only is a President Schemer, he's also a vampire. Slightly subverted in that he is a ex-president
Our Souls Are Different
Our Vampires Are Different
Our Werewolves Are Different
Overly Long Name Piscary's full name. Ptah Ammon Fineas Horton Madison Parker Piscary
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Ivy
- Nick fits this trope better, especially concerning hollow eyes and a near-starved frame. Ivy is more Tall, Dark and Bishoujo, complete with aloofness.
Pen Name Kim Harrison is an alternate persona of Dawn Cook
Perky Goth Ivy's younger sister Erica
Plot Line Crossover Happens with remarkable frequency. Some notable examples are the elven childhood cure for Rosewood making Rachel a part demon, Ivy's long ago disgraced boss Art killing Kisten and the demon focus being key to several parallel plot lines among many others
Police Are Useless It seems Rachel tends to solve more Inderlander crimes for the FIB than their actual employees. The IS on the other hand simply covers up Inderlander crime as opposed to enforcing the laws
The Power of Blood Type AB
Power of Love When trapped in the Ever After, Rachel uses her feelings for Ivy as an anchor to return to the real world
The Power of Trust Rachel initially worked alone but has gradually learned to rely on Jenks and Ivy to help her out in tough situations. This has also begun to include Ceri.
Power Nullifier Special restraints prevent witches from being able to access ley-line energies for their magic
Psycho Lesbian Skimmer
Put on a Bus Nick, in A Fistful of Charms. He comes back in Black Magic Sanction.
- Keasley aka Leon Bairnes as of Black Magic Sanction
Rape as Backstory Ivy and possibly Kisten at the hands of Piscary
Redheaded Hero Or heroine, in Rachel's case.
Redemption Equals Death Kisten
Redemption Quest Ivy trying to escape her life as a vampire through Rachel
The Renfield 'Shadows'- people bound to vampires by their bite exemplify this troupe
- Vampires can also create a similar bond to create a 'scion' which still binds a person but leaves them much more free will. Scions can also draw on some of the energy of the vampire they are bonded to. Conversely the vampire can freely Mind Rape the scion so it is not an ideal relationship
The Reveal Usually at least one major one and several minor ones a book. These have included but are not limited to Ivy setting up the church as a trap for Rachel under Piscary's orders, Piscary revealed to have molested Ivy for most of her life, Rachel received illegal genetic treatment for a fatal disorder as a child, Keasley being the legendary long thought dead runner Leon Bairnes, Trent is an elf and the elves are not extinct, Piscary to be behind the assassination attempts against Trent and Rachel, Trent and Rachel's father were partners and both killed by Piscary, Nick revealed to be a thief, Rachel's father being Takata, Rachel's adoptive father died trying to reverse the transformation into a vampire, Pierce to be haunting the church for over a year, Ceri's pregnancy and the father's true identity, Rachel's mother being nowhere near as senile as she lets on, witches are the genetically damaged descendants of demons, the cure given to Rachel as a child has restored part of her demonic nature so that she can use demon magic and many, many more
- Kim's biggest reveal to date is that 'Kim Harrison' is a pen name for Dawn Cook. This has surprisingly created a degree of Internet Backdraft
Resurrected Romance
Romantic Two-Girl Friendship Arguably Rachel and Ivy have an adult version of this. Played more straight in back story with Ivy and Skimmer
Running Gag: <task> is what Jenks is <increasingly high number>th-best at. Guess what he's best at?
Scarpia Ultimatum At one point, Piscary promised to let Rachel live if Ivy returns to him. Of course he twists this to mean making Rachel his 'shadow'
Screw the Money, I Have Rules Rachel's attitude to Trent's periodic attempts to bribe her
Screw the Rules, I Have Money Trent Kalamack, Piscary
Sexy Mentor Pierce for Rachel
She Is Not My Girlfriend Ivy and Rachel
Shoot the Dog Rachel tricks Al into taking Lee as a familiar instead of her, dooming him instead of her to a Fate Worse Than Death.
- Later in order to fake the death of Nick Rachel agrees to a plan to kill a willing terminally ill living vampire disguised as Nick despite it violating her Technical Pacifist stance. Double angst points in that Nick intentionally blows the operation and then immediately fakes his own death again in an attempt to double cross everyone making it a Senseless Sacrifice
Shorter Means Smarter Inverted here with the taller Ivy being the smart planned out one and the shorter Rachel the impatient riskier one
Shout-Out Al once references 'burning bunnies' in a memorable quote. This is a Catch Phrase of the author and members of her fan club often wear burning bunny pins to her book signings to identify themselves. You can find an example of the pin a little further down this page^{[dead link]}
- Perhaps the most obvious shout out is the titles of the book. All except the first are derived from Clint Eastwood films due to the author's love of the actor's work. As a result, fans enjoy speculating on what the titles of upcoming books will be
Sibling Yin-Yang Rachel and Robey. To lesser degree, Ivy and Erica
Signed Up for the Dental David tries to recruit Rachel as his 'on paper' partner using this tack
Single-Target Sexuality Skimmer's attitude towards Ivy
Smug Snake Second string villains tend to be this including Art, Denon and Nick
Spell Book Rachel has several
Spell Construction The series uses all elements of this troupe in one way or another
Start My Own The series begins with Rachel, Ivy and Jenks quitting the IS to start their own independent runner agency
Summon Magic Demons must be summoned by a magician to enter the real world. The exception is the demon matriarch Newt in an example of Screw the Rules, I Make Them
- Ghosts can be also summoned and given temporary solid form by magic and given permanent physical form by demon magic and killing a live member of their race
  - Since Rachel bears demon blood she can be summoned if someone knows her summoning name. This becomes a major plot point in Black Magic Sanction
Suddenly Always Knew That Jenks tends to reveal 'traditional pixy skills' as the plot requires. To date these include but are not limited to being a computer hacker, knowing how to disable security systems and creating explosives from pixy dust and common household chemicals. How a short lived general illiterate species managed to acquire such technically advanced skills is never addressed.
- Considering that Jax learned to read or at least learned his AB Cs in under a week by watching Sesame Street, we're probably supposed to assume that pixies are really fast learners.
Survivor Guilt Rachel and Ivy, to a lesser extent, when Kisten dies
Sweet Tooth Jenks around honey, to the point it gets him drunk
Technical Pacifist Rachel
There Are No Good Executives played straight
Three Wishes What the leprechaun bribes Rachel, Ivy and Jenks with. Each of them gets one wish. Just don't ask about Ivy's
Tomato in the Mirror Rachel when she realized she was part demon
Tome of Eldritch Lore Rachel has several tomes of demon magic with some rather disturbing spells. However being that she is a bit Book Dumb they tend to collect dust more than see use
Too Dumb to Live arguably, Rachel at times. Justified in that she is a adrenaline junkie
Took a Level in Badass Rachel does this periodically. She starts as a simple earth witch and every other book or so learns a new type of magic to add to her arsenal. First she learns ley-line magic, then black magic, then demon magic secondhand from Ceri and now is learning it first hand from Al.
- David is another example. First he starts off as a bookish werewolf insurance investigator who wanted to form his own pack to avoid werewolf politics. Later he ends up beating several werewolves at once from his old pack who challenge him. He takes another level in badass when he absorbs a demonic curse that can create werewolves from human beings which makes the equivalent of a super-alpha wolf
Troubled but Cute Kisten
Two First Names Rachel Morgan
The Stoic Quen
The Unmasqued World
The Unpronounceable Demon summoning names
Urban Fantasy
Unresolved Sexual Tension Rachel/Ivy
Unusual Euphemism "Turn" is regularly used where one would expect Cluster F-Bomb or something similar.
Unwitting Pawn Rachel more often than she'd like
The Virus The vampire virus is a rather multifaceted version. Non-vampires bitten have their DNA rewired to become addicted to the 'rush' of bite and highly vulnerable to vampire Mind Control pheromones. A vampire can also bind a non-vampire to their will with a bite to become their Renfield or make them a more free-willed version known as a scion. Humans but not other races infected with enough of the virus become low-blood vampire or 'ghouls'
- The worst aspect of the virus is that when a living vampire dies, the virus will consume their soul and cause them to rise as a soulless undead version of themselves. Kisten may have avoided this fate. Word of God hasn't decided yet
- Another virus appears in the form of a demonic focus that can transform a human into a werewolf. David accidentally transforms a number of his girlfriends this way
Vampire Bites Suck Normally neurotransmitters make vampire bites pleasant but the vampire can make it painful or even paralyze a person with their bite
Vampires Are Sex Gods Kisten and Ivy, especially since she can't separate blood from sex
Vampire Detective Series Or more accurately a witch, vampire and pixy detective series
Victoria's Secret Compartment Rachel sticks her cell phone here for a wedding, since her dress lacks pockets. It rings loudly and rudely. Takata finds it amusing when she says she "had it on vibrate. Really."
Villain with Good Publicity Trent and to a lesser degree Lee and Piscary
Villains Out Shopping Played straight and literal once with Trent
Villainous Breakdown Skimmer several times, most notably when Rachel and Ivy visit her in jail
Walking Disaster Area arguably, Rachel
Warm Bloodbags Are Everywhere Vampires, especially Ivy, can have self-control 'issues' in regard to other races
Well-Intentioned Extremist Trent Everything he does is to resurrect his species and lift the genetic curse that affects and kills their infants.
Who Wants to Live Forever? Ivy doesn't want to become an undead vampire but instead wants to keep her soul even if it means dying. Also, Ceri after 1000 years as a demonic familiar is now content to age and die naturally
Will They or Won't They? Rachel and Ivy. Less so later in the series
Willfully Weak At the start of the series Rachel is doing this, by doing only white earth magic spells. White spells are less powerful than black spells, and the line is clearer with earth magic than ley line magic. However, circumstances keep forcing her to use black magic and demon curses.
- Later in Black Magic Sanction it is shown white magic can be as strong as black magic, but requires greater skill to do so. Rachel isn't much for studying though and thus chooses to use black and demon magic as a short cut when she needs power. This is beginning to have some rather negative long term implications.
White Magic What Rachel practices. Mostly. Originally.
Witch Species In the series, witches are separate species originating in the Ever-After. Though they look just like humans, their genetics are completely different and the two species cannot interbreed.
- Later it is revealed that the witch species arose from stunted demon children suffering from a elven curse
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity Newt
Word of God Kim Harrison maintains a Yahoo group and a website where she often answers questions or clarifies details of the stories
- The author reserves the right to answer any question with her Catch Phrase KSR1 or "Kim's Standard Reply 1" which is "I'm not telling"
  - Update: Kim has removed herself from her Yahoo group due to Internet Backdraft after her revelation that 'Kim Harrison' is a pen name. She still maintains a presence on her website 'Drama Box'
Working the Same Case Played with a twist in that more than once one of Rachel's antagonists is investigating the case she is as well but for different motives
You Called Me "X" - It Must Be Serious: Especially evident with Al.
You Can't Miss It: Rachel is given drections like this in A Fistful of Charms.
You Fail Biology Forever Rachel is turned into a mink, which is repeatedly described as a rodent and being fed carrots and so on. Minks are carnivorous mustelids.
You Have Failed Me... Trent's policy for firing employees
You Killed My Father Slightly inverted in that the Jerkass Trent blames the death of his father on Rachel, whose adoptive father also died