Laws of the Blood 4: Deceptions

Let us hop on over to Washington, D.C. Hey, it is the capitol of the USA's mortals, why not for the capitol for the USA's vampires as well? Olympias has long reigned as the Enforcer of Washington, D.C. She is the one ultimately responsible for every strigoi in the country. With "the Enforcers' Enforcer" away on a long overdue vacation, Olympias has even more to deal with. Sara, Maggie, and Gerry are Olympias's slaves. They are the ones that Olympias delegates most of the work to. Sara is the one considered to be Olympias's right hand person. And it is she that is sent to talk to Andrew, a suicidal vampire in the area wishing for Olympias to kill him. Why? Because Andrew thinks he is going insane. Andrew is convinced he is seeing ghosts. The local vampires are upset at Olympias, who is demanding all the nests to vacate the area within a month. Rose, a local nest leader, is the most upset due to the fact that she has lived in that area longer than any other vampire. It is the only place she has ever considered to be "home". Her companion, Roger, sees potential and begins using everyone in an attempt to kill Olympias and eventually take over as leader. Then there is Colonel Mike Falconer, who is over a government project, the Walker Project. His group are very "gifted" and walk the astral plane. And for the first time in centuries, Olympias is considering having a companion. It all adds up to trouble with a capitol T.***** Excellent! Very well executed! (Pardon the pun.) Book 4 is even better than the last, and that is definitely saying something. I hope to see these main and secondary characters again in future books. With all that I am seeing, this is shaping up to be series that fans will want to keep reading about for years! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This may be my favorite in the series so far. Olympias was not a touchy feely character, but a tough, several thousand year old vampire used to being treated like a queen. She was comfortable being a civilized monster. She didn't have to be loveable to save the day, but save it she did. I believe Andrew and Sara were the people readers were supposed to identify with and root for -- I know I did. Another thing I enjoyed was the tidbits about strigoi culture. Especially finding out about hellhounds, and that vampires and werewolves don't get along because of the hellhounds. And Bentencourt -- now there was an interesting villian -- a mortal more dangerous than the vampires because of his skill at manipulation, especially of the women in his life who trust him. Was happy when he met his much-deserved end.

This one is about Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great and wife of Philip. That gives you some idea of her age. Olympias has been mentioned in her previous novels but this one is about her. She has her own problems at home in Washington DC. She is the Enforcer of the United States with her home base in Washington DC. She has her human servant, Sara, doing work that she should be doing. It comes back to bite her on the butt! I really liked all the levels in this one. From the nests of vampires who are told to leave DC to the Conniver,who sows discontent among many of the vampires and companions. It was a real page turner and I really look forward to reading the next one. Way to go, Susan!

Wherever there are vampires, there must be laws, otherwise humanity's predators would be revealed, and become prey themselves. In Susan Sizemore's world, the laws are made by the Council, and a group of specialized vampires called hunters exists to enforce their dictates. Not a very democratic system, but one that has stood the test of time. More to the point, is has stood the test of four volumes in a successful series.Each volume tells a story about a particular enforcer, Char McCarin in Seattle, Selim in Los Angeles, Istvan the roamer, and now Olympias in Washington, D.C. Once the wife of Philip of Macedonia, she has had 2,000 years to hone her political and power skills, rising to become the chief enforcer for the United States. In her concerns for the maintenance of the Law everywhere she has forgotten to apply it equally at home. Her laxity has permitted the local vampire nests to make their own rules, and now that she is determined to bring things back under control, rebellion is about to break out.It does not help that she has selected a possible companion that another vampire wants, or that someone in the nests is plotting to bring her down. And what will she do with another vampire who has requested permission to die? Olympias has no choice but to burden her slaves with too much responsibility and now she must deal with the consequences. The ensuing crisis will take all her political and fighting skills.Sizemore is one of the few writers who can write about vampire politics without becoming distractingly boring. Part of this is the mystique of the enforcers, a specialized breed that prefers to feed on the hearts of other vampires. Another part is that her characters, despite the possession of immortality and superhuman powers behave like real people. No overblown romanticism or new goth world order here, but interesting personalities dealing with life among the pointy-toothed.The writing shows good pacing, and while not sparse does not dwell too long over any particular facet. Violence is sudden, horrific, and then over with. Much time has been spent thinking through the logic of this world, and it rings true even when it crosses over to the fantastic. The overall effect is a refreshing shift from more stereotyped vampire fiction. If such existed, I would call the 'Laws of the Blood' series vampire fiction for vampires. While the individual novels do occasionally intertwine all can stand independently, so you may begin with any volume you please.

She was the mother of Alexander the Great and Philip of Macedon's queen. She saw the rise and fall of Greece and Rome and other civilizations lost to the dust of time. Her name is Olympias and her age can be measured in millenniums but she prefers to live in the present where she is the Chief Enforcer of Washington DC. She insures that all vampires in her domain obey the laws of the council and keep their identities hidden from the mortals living along side them.Olympias is going through the motions of her job, but she is not really paying any attention to the beings that are dissatisfied with her actions. Her "slave" Sarah wants her mistress to pay more attention to her, while a vampire's companion sets in motion a plan that will topple Olympias from power, and a black ops government backed psychic group is on the verge of discovering that vampires actually exist. To complicate matters even more the Enforcer is attracted to the head of the psychic group, a man whose vampire father lives in Olympias' territory.Every book in this series seems better than the previous highly regarded predecessors as Susan Sizemore continues to develop the culture of the vampire society. The heroine of this novel has earned a sequel and the audience deserves learning the fate of some of the likable characters in LAWS OF THE BLOOD: DECEPTIONS. There are so many exciting subplots that tie into the main story line that readers will want to read this book more than once, but each time in one sitting.Harriet Klausner