This vampire yarn hits familiar beats with a standout cast and a grand denouement.
A college student transforms after a vampire’s bite in Nix’s supernatural thriller.
University of Michigan senior Drew Owens cherishes his late-night walks across campus. Unfortunately, that’s prime time for vampires to stalk, and one night a bloodsucker suddenly attacks him. Miraculously, he awakens in a body bag, and a voice coaxes him out. It belongs to Samatonius Belzar, a 1,500-year-old vampire (and not the one who bit Drew). Sam belongs to a “family” that Drew has now joined. While most of these vamps are affable, Fredrick Kolf is definitely not. He’s got his red eye on Meg Larson, a fellow student Drew met recently. Fredrick may be a powerful vampire, but Drew, unlike the rest of the family, is immune to sunlight and “religious relics” like crucifixes. Drew resolves to keep Meg safe from Fredrick. Much of this tale lingers in recognizable terrain; these vampires are immortal, nocturnal beings who bite necks and flaunt such supernatural abilities as telepathy. Still, the cast is engaging, as Sam lovingly embraces new family members and Drew resists drinking blood for as long as he can (“Remnants of his human side still resided within him….At the moment, he felt incapable of murdering some innocent stranger”). The subplots are uniformly engrossing, including the detectives’ murder case, Drew and Meg’s potential romance, and the backstory of the vampiric “curse” that began in Jerusalem millennia ago. There is nominal action and suspense, as the characters are more prone to discussions of all that comes with being a vampire. Nevertheless, Drew’s unique immunity leads to an intriguing narrative turn that ignites a riveting final act and an unforgettable ending.
This vampire yarn hits familiar beats with a standout cast and a grand denouement.Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2023
ISBN: 979-8862713138
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans.
A Christmas bout between Kay Scarpetta and the Phantom Slasher.
But first, Scarpetta, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, has to figure out how software designer Rowdy O’Leary died. Fished from the Potomac River on Christmas Eve six years after a hit-and-run driver left him permanently disabled and a week after he plunked down the cash for a pricey emerald ring, he fell off his fishing perch and drowned—or did he? Scarpetta’s examination of his body is cut short by two disturbing developments: the discovery of an unidentified woman’s remains buried on the grounds of Mercy Psychiatric Hospital, and celebrity TV reporter Dana Diletti’s report that the red-eyed ghost associated with the Slasher’s three murders has floated through the window of her home. She’s got video, too, and the apparition looks real and scary. The final blow to Scarpetta’s plans for a Christmas getaway with her husband, Secret Service forensic psychologist Benton Wesley, is an attack on an Alexandria home that kills Mercy psychiatrist Georgine Duvall, who used to treat Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy Farinelli, and nearly kills graduate student Zain Willard, White House intern and nephew of presidential candidate Sen. Calvin Willard. This time the Slasher’s ghost has been spotted on the scene by none other than Pete Marino, head of investigations for the medical examiner’s office and Scarpetta’s longtime sidekick. Cornwell’s use of Robbie, Zain’s robotic dog, and Janet, Lucy’s AI companion, integrates the futuristic elements she favors more successfully than in her recent outings. But the solutions to all these mysteries will leave fans of the venerable franchise pursing their lips rather than gasping in awe.
Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781538773963
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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