FROM SUNSET TILL SUNRISE

Mysterious neighbors appear in Gravesend.

Not much time has gone by since Devin and his cousin Tommy saved the town of Gravesend from the dastardly Cuddle Bunnies (Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies, 2017), and not much has changed. The only big development is the peculiar coffin Devin saw moved into the empty house on his street. The new family is rumored to be actors that collect movie memorabilia, and Devin is more than happy to let things lie and admire Lily, the new neighbors’ enchanting daughter. Of course, Tommy thinks Lily and her family are vampires, and it isn’t long before the evidence stacks up in his favor. The author wrings some good gags out of the stale premise, but the novel’s big problem is its protagonist. Readers know that Lily is a vampire, and Tommy points out again and again how she is one, but Devin digs in his heels and refuses to engage with his own narrative. A reluctant protagonist works for a few pages, but not over nearly 100. If the story’s own protagonist can’t bother to engage with it, why should readers? The result is a grating experience, rubbing readers the wrong way as the story presses on without real intrigue and the lead characters (all evidently white) bicker repeatedly with no variance or modulation.

A hackneyed tale that gets further scuttled by its own main character.