An Old Friend of the Family

In Chicago, the wealthy Southerland family struggles to persuade Police Detective Franzen that something bad has happened to their beloved Kate Southerland. He agrees with them once her corpse is found. Unbeknownst to the family though they descend from Wilhelmina Hacker she is not just dead. At the same time, someone abducts Kate's younger brother Johnny leaving a bloody finger behind as evidence of foul play. Since CPD failed them with Kate, the family matriarch Clarissa turns to a long time family friend Dr. Emile Corday for assistance. He investigates the murder and the turning of Kate as well as the kidnapping on the assumption they are linked beyond sibling coincidence. He soon concludes that the assailants are using the Harker descendents as pawns in a deadly blood feud over a century old and a continent away with the ultimate target being Dr. Emile Corday. This is a reprint of Fred Saberhagen's fine first vampire tale with 1980's references like the Pointer Sisters. The story line is action-packed starting off as a mystery that turns into much more especially when Dracula arrives on the scene to protect the Harker brood from an evil sorceress only to realize that there is much more on the agenda. Fans of Mr. Saberhagen's vampire thrillers will appreciate AN OLD FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, which readers know lives up to its title. Harriet Klausner

The difficulty of dealing with vampires in fiction is caused by the problem of balancing their near-supernatural powers with the limited ability of humans to deal with them. Saberhagen short-circuits this by changing sides! His favorite vampire uses his abilities to help humans, frequently at his own peril. This book illustrates this without pushing it to extremes, and he allows the poor humans to intervene decisively at critical points. A very good read or re-read!

This was one of my favorite vampire stories that I've read!! Definately recommend to vampire readers.

Dracula comes to modern-day Chicago to rescue the descendants of Mina Harker. The characters are three-dimensional and the story is gripping right up to the end. This is one of my all-time favorite books.

An Old Friend of the Family was the first of Saberhagen's Dracula I read (many years ago) and it is still one of the best. While not as long or as meaty as some of his later books in the series, it is an excellent read with just the right combination of mystery and danger.