The Vampire Files, Volume Two

P. N. Elrod's vampire detective is another one of my favorite vampires. He's kind of like the Harry Dresden of the vampire world and I LOVE Harry Dresden. I particularly like this book because it has several books in one. How convenient is that?

More adventures of a 'modern' vampire - for the depression. This light reading material debunks the notion that Vampires - or anyone, for that matter - are all good, or all evil. This particular vampire was a real nice guy, and became a real nice vampire. A good treat for people who 'hate' vampire stories . . .

I was so happy to see that the publisher has opted to do a 3-book large format release for this excellent series by P.N. Elrod that even though I own all the books under the original mass market covers, I am buying them all again in the new editions. I am also ecstatic to see that they have done a MUCH better job on the cover art than in the original mass market editions. If I had not been running a chain bookstore when the first one came out hadn't gotten a recommendation from one of my customers who loved the book, I would NEVER have picked it because the cover art was so tacky. I think a lot of good books go unnoticed because the publisher harms the book with bad art. Publishers: use a plain colored cover instead of something that makes the book look like tough-guy drivel or something else they are NOT! Good cover art sells books, BAD ART KILLS! I recommend this series to readers who are interesed in how a 'normal' human might react to the circumstances created by being made vampire unexpectedly. Jack isn't a deliberate hero, and is no part of any 'brotherhood' or 'secret society'; he is instead a Joe Average hack journalist scrabbling to make a living in the depression, a likable guy who bumbles around trying to figure out what happened to him and feeling like he is up to his waist in the quicksand that has become his existence. In many vampire fiction novels, becoming a 'creature of the night' magically solves a host of probelms and enables the hero to go on a crusade or gain lots of 'powers' which help to cope; this doesn't happen for Jack. He tries to do the best he can under the circumstances he's been handed, but finds himself becoming more at odds with the 1920's organized criminal empire he's become inadvertently pitted against, and finds himself relying more and more upon the few human friends he has who know what he is. His vulnarability is at times wrenching. These books are enjoyable fiction which make you think about what it REALLY might be like to have the vampiric circumstance thrust upon you. No sturm and drang, no graphic sex scenes, but plenty of emotional response where the reader becomes invested in Jack, his friends, and the trials of his new existence. I recommend these book Highly - watch out, though: they're hard to put down and you may face the hazard of staying up way too late to finsh and showing up for work the next day with dark circles under your eyes!

This is a collection of books 4-6 in the Jack Fleming, Vampire PI series and contains entertaining supernatural stories which leaven the 'vampire' moments with the humanity of our bloodsucking protagonist, Jack. He's a great hero because he's fallible, seems to get shot and knocked out rather regularly, cares for his girlfriend Bobbi and his friend Charles Escott and tends to blunder around not being quite sure what he's doing a lot of the time. Perhaps his blundering and being shot may pall over time but at the moment it makes for a very different, and very likeable, hero. ART IN THE BLOOD "Art in the Blood" sees Jack coming to the rescue of a man at a party and then being sucked into problems within the art world. Alex Adrian was a famous artist but hasn't done anything since his wife committed suicide; Evan Robley and his sister Sandra are also artists and when more suspicious events start taking place, including a death for which Alex Adrian might be responsible, Jack and Escott have to unravel the plot and work out what's really going on. The Chicago underworld plays its part as usual with more dodgy characters who have it in for Jack and Escott. This story gives us more of an insight into the relationship between Jack and Bobbi as well as Jack needing to use his powers of vampire hypnosis more and more, leading to more people finding out what he truly is. It's another great read with a lighthearted feel and yet sometimes a darker undertone. FIRE IN THE BLOOD The first page in this book is great fun as we meet Jack apparently stripping Olivia Vandemore's evening gown from her and about to sacrifice her on an altar to Sabajajji, the Spider God. Fortunately this is just part of the novel he is writing rather than reality - although reality for Jack Fleming, Vampire PI, is often as bloodthirsty as this novel. Jack and Charles Escott, Private Agent, are summoned to see Mr Sebastian Pierce, a rich retired Chicago man who tasks them to find a valuable bracelet that his daughter's boyfriend or a friend of his may have stolen. Jack finds himself shadowing the daughter to Bobbi's club and soon enough they stumble into murder and mayhem. A new member of the Chicago Underground, Vaughn Kyler, comes into play in this book and he's a particularly creepy individual who is resistant to Jack's vampire hypnosis. This book also sees the darker side of Jack having an outing after an episode of hypnotising goes rather wrong. Once again Jack finds himself in dodgy situations and only escapes by the skin of his teeth - is this ability going to pall any time soon? The ending of this book is rather open and in fact leads directly into the next story, "Blood on the Water", although fortunately this episode does reach some sort of a conclusion. However Jack's rather more off balance in this book because of the darker side of his powers and we are learning more about him through it. Another great episode in this excellent series - a series that it probably pay

This was a fantastic book that I look forward to reading again and again in the future, it had a great story line that follows the first vol. The author knows how to write a great book thats for sure.