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GIRL’S GUIDE TO VAMPIRES
By Katie MacAlister
Published by Dorchester Publishing
Copyright 2003
ISBN#: 0-505-52530-5
Series: Love Spell
Genre Subgenre: Romance Vampire
Recently I decided to explore some of the romance authors that I had
been hearing about on my vampire reading groups. I wasn’t surprised to
find most of them not listed in my local co-operative library system.
Vampire romance (i.e. pulp paperbacks) are a fleeting animal, even hard
to find in used bookstores. Anyway, I did discover a couple books
available from my library. Katie MacAlister’s A GIRL’S GUIDE TO
VAMPIRES was one of them.
I enjoyed it so much, I just might have to break down and actually
buy some more of her books. It is a funny, irrelevant take on vampire
romances and romance in general. The heroine, Joy, is mouthy and
sarcastic, always arguing with her best friend Roxy, taking potshots at
irritating witches and swarmy fake vampires. She’s not willing to take
it from anyone, even the two alpha males who are in a pissing contest
over her, especially not them.
And what about the vampires? Well, she dedicates the book to, among
others, Christine Feehan, and then proceeds to make fun of the ideal
vampire made so popular by that writer. The tormented male vampire, who
must find his perfect soulmate, the one human woman who can save him and
give him back his soul. Arrogant, overprotective alpha males that
confront women and turn them into submissive, willing love slaves or at
least try to, which never really works, as in the case of Joy. It only
frustrates the hell out of her until she can get them whipped into
shape.
Her friend Roxy, a devoted fan of the author C. J. Dante’s Dark
Ones series, believes in the absolute validity of the Dark Ones,
vampires. Joy is a lot more skeptical, but she agrees to accompany her
friend to Czech Republic to visit the area where the recluse Dante lives
in a castle. Roxy is determined to meet her favorite author and find
real vampires. Joy doesn’t believe until she begins sharing visions
with a vampire, until he starts calling her Beloved, and coming to her
in the night. It is either believe that vampires are real or that she is
going insane. She chooses to believe in vampires. So who is this vampire
who is haunting her? Is it Dominic, the owner of a traveling Goth Fair,
who masquerades as a vampire, complete with fake fangs, or Raphael, the
absolute hunk that sends her weak kneed, or Christian with the soothing,
sexy voice, or Milos, with the dead eyes. And who killed Tanya, the
witch with the fair, who was making trouble because she thought Joy was
trying to steal her boyfriend, Dominic?
A GIRL’S GUIDE TO VAMPIRES is well worth reading. It is light.
Funny. Sexy. And entertaining.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane January 30, 2005
Available from Amazon.com
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Cry Dance
by Kirk Mitchell
Published by Bantam Books
Copyright 1999
ISBN: 0-553-57914-2
SERIES: Emmet Parker & Anna Turnipseed
GENRE SUBGENRE: Mystery - American Indian
Emmet Quanah Parker is almost as famous as his Comanche ancestor. The
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Investigator has a reputation for getting
his man, going back to when he partook in a Sun Dance to maintain his
cover. Now he is called to investigate the body of a white woman found
buried on Havasupai reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He
wonders what the fact that the killer cut off her face means?
Against his wishes he is teamed up with a rookie FBI agent, Anna
Turnipseed, who is of Modoc descent. Her boss is his old nemesis.
Parker and Turnipseed’s investigation leads them to a land exchange
that was being brokered by the dead woman. If the deal went through, it
would lead to a new casino next to the highway for a tribe that consists
of only one old woman.
Investigating the gambling connection, Parker goes to interview the
President of the gambling casino, arriving a moment too late, and finds
himself chasing the killer through the snow of Lake Tahoe.
Against Parker’s wishes, Anna is sent undercover as a blackjack
dealer in an Indian Casino that is run by Cy Fourkiller.
The case gets complicated with Jamaican hitmen trying to kill him and
leading him a wild chase across the desert. Anna’s cover is blown, and
she is used by an old enemy as bait to trap Parker.
In the genre of Southwest mysteries, this book stands up well next to
Tony Hillerman’s with interesting characters and a complex mystery.
The exploration of Indian sovereignty and the new phenomenon of Indian
gambling was a different take on the usual style of Indian mysteries. I
look forward to the next in the series.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane, October 1, 2002
Available from Amazon.com
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BLOODSUCKING FIENDS,
A Love Story
by Christopher Moore
Published by Avon Books
Copyright 1995
ISBN# 0-380-72813-5
Genre / Subgenre: Vampire General Fiction
Bloodsucking Fiends is full of quirky characters. There’s the bum
who claims to be the Emperor of San Francisco and his two dogs, Lazarus
and Bummer. Then there’s the mixed crew of the midnight shift of the
Marina Safeway Store, affectionately called the Animals, who besides
unloading freight and stocking shelves, manage to think up ever more
creative ways to party. How about some turkey bowling?
Then there is Jody, whose way too ordinary dysfunctional life
suddenly changes when she wakes up as a vampire. And C. Thomas Flood,
who comes to the big city to starve and suffer from a broken heart,
because that’s what writers do.
When Tommy meets Jody, he finds so much more than he ever expected,
adventure and true love. The only problem in their life is that they are
being stalked by an age-old vampire. Out of boredom, he created Jody and
now is playing games with his fledgling, which include leaving dead
bodies on Jody’s doorstep and threatening to kill her. Jody and Tommy
must figure out how to stop this menace, while avoiding being arrested
by the police for murder.
Christopher Moore has a wonderful humorous view of 20th
century life in the big city, specifically San Francisco. Thought the
title claims it is a love story, it by no means falls in the
classification of "romance novel." Nor does it fall into the
trap of the typical vampire cliches. No where near Anne Rice. Definitely
not horror.
This story stands on its own. Unique, fun, and well worth reading.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane, July 30, 2004
His home page is http://www.chrismoore.com/
Available from Amazon.com
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