X-Rated Bloodsuckers (Felix Gomez)

The sequel to Nymphos is just as good, if not better, than the original. I love his take on Felix Gomez, and the combination of lightheartedness and darkness in the books. Definitely a must for a fun summer read.

Actually, I'm not a huge vampire fan under normal circumstances. But Felix Gomez changed my mind. For one thing, Felix is not that wild about being a vampire himself, making his life constantly fraught with self-doubt. He uses his special powers, but rarely without questioning them and himself. The side characters, from the son of La Malinche to the would-be girlfriend, were well-drawn and compelling. And it's great to hear from such a vibrant latino voice...without the novel being all about the search for identity. Wonderful story, well told.

Private detective Felix Gomez isn't much interested in the death of a porn star until his potential client, Katz Meox, mentions the word 'vampire.' Mortal humans aren't supposed to know that vampires exist--that Katz knows means that something has gone very wrong in Los Angeles. Of course a hundred-thousand dollar fee isn't bad as far as incentives go, either, even for a vampire-detective like Gomez. He heads from his home in Denver to Los Angeles and the San Frenando Valley, home of the porn industry. In Los Angeles, Gomez makes contact with the head of the local Vampires and soon discovers that things are worse than he imagined. The LA vampires are actively working toward some kind of power-sharing with humans. Gomez knows too well what that will mean--individual vampires may be powerful, but their only real safety comes from human certainty that they don't exist. Still, the murder proves harder to solve--there are plenty of people with motives to have killed Roxy Bronze, but Gomez's nearly infailable ability to hypnotize mortals and get them to tell the truth doesn't unveil the killer the way he thought it would. And when he won't cut a deal with the local vampire leader, Gomez finds he's on the run from vampires, silver-bullet-armed cops, and a woman who almost convinces him that vampires can seek real love. Author Mario Acevedo creates a charming mix of the hard-boiled detective story with modern urban fantasy. Gomez is an interesting and conflicted character, still damaged from his actions in Iraq, cynical about both mortal humans and his undead counterparts, and uncertain whether a vampire has a chance at love. The Chinatown world of Los Angeles and the porn industry add texture to the story, as does Gomez's hispanic background and Acevedo's use of Spanish in his story. Sidekick Coyote is an especially interesting character--with his weakness for rat chorizo and cheap booze. X-RATED BLOOD SUCKERS has plenty of funny moments, but it it's a lot darker than the title indicates. Gomez's world is dark, and there really aren't good answers--with murder being the bad answer found most often. I did think that Gomez was just a little too capable. Good against humans is easy for a vampire, but Gomez seemed a bit too good against other vampires as well. Whether you're looking for an innovative urban fantasy, or a mystery reader interested in expanding your horizons, X-RATED BLOOD SUCKERS has a lot going for it. I'm happy to recommend this story.

As a vampire fiction fan, I'm always searching for a great vampire novel that doesn't re-tread over the same tired terrain. Every vampire movie and novel followed Bram Stoker's "Dracula" motif until Ann Rice came along and totally re-invented the genre with "Interview with the Vampire." (Granted, Stephen King's "'Salem's Lot" is a fabulous and terrifying take on the Bram Stoker pattern, but it is still the Bram Stoker world.) Once Ann Rice re-defined vampires, everyone followed suit. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and all her copycat novels and movies used Rice's pattern as a new definition of the vampire world. Now along comes Mario Acevedo and his vampire detective, Felix Gomez, and he has changed the genre anew. Unlike the cold, languid vampires of the Ann Rice world, Felix Gomez is as hot and spicy as the blood drenched nachos that he orders at a vampire bar. Vampires in this new world are day-dwelling (with enough SPF sunscreen), hungry for coffee and food (although it's not very tasty unless spiced up with blood), and though their hearts don't beat, they still have them and they can still fall in love. This novel and the first, Nymphos of Rocky Flats, are fresh and original. Acevedo's writing is lean and elegant and fast-paced, with touches of laugh-out-loud humor. In the next few years don't be surprised to find vampire authors writing about "chalices" or using crows to carry messages, or writing about vampires who walk in daylight. If you read Acevedo's novels, you'll have read it there first. I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to see what Felix Gomez is up to next.

In 2006, Mario Acevedo introduced us to Felix Gomez, soldier vampire turned private investigator, in The Nymphos of Rocky Flats: A Novel. Felix solved the mystery of the nymphos using his supernatural powers, and in 2007, he returns in X-Rated Blood Suckers, the sequel. Still a private investigator, Felix's services have been sought out by porn actress Katz Meow. Katz needs Felix to find the murderer of her friend and fellow porn star, Roxy Bronze, and she's willing to pay a hefty fee if he'll take the case. When he realizes he has personal ties to Roxy, his interest in the case is piqued. When the governing body of vampires, the Araneum, lets him know--in no uncertain terms--that he will take the case because they suspect vampire-human collusion, he hops on a plane for Los Angeles. When Felix arrives, he discovers that Katz Meow has disappeared. According to her employer, porn producer Cragnow Vissoom, she never showed up for work, which is out of character for Katz. Vissoom is also the leader of the Los Angeles vampire nidus and is the main suspect the Araneum sent Felix to investigate. Felix knows there is more to the story than Vissoom is revealing. As Felix begins interviewing suspects, it becomes evident that Roxy had plenty of enemies with motives for murder. The suspect list keeps getting longer and the bodies are piling up. Crime lords, politicians, doctors, porn kings, evangelists, chalices--everyone he encounters seems to be linked to one another and have ties to Roxy. It's baffling, even for the most experienced of supernatural detectives. The story of X-Rated Blood Suckers is possibly more intricate than The Nymphos of Rocky Flats. Acevedo manages to introduce a host of characters without convoluting the plot and distracting the reader. A love interest provides some inner turmoil for Felix as he wrestles back his human emotions because of his damnation into the world of blood suckers. Possibly the most delightful aspect is the addition of Felix's partner-in-crime, Coyote. Coyote is an elusive ancient vampire with a penchant for rat meat. With his mysterious talents, he darts in and out of Felix's life with privileged information that helps the investigation. Despite his irritation, Felix becomes quite attached to his friend. Coyote could be characterized as the comic relief, but the whole of the novel is hilarious on its own. Together, the two friends face the most dangerous adversary of all: humans.