I’m a huge fan of C. J. Tudor. With the notable exception of The Drift, all of her books have been five-star reads for me. And this one followed the trend very nicely.
Mind you, I don’t even like vampire fiction. Actually, that alone probably speaks volumes to how good this book is—someone who doesn’t care for vampires loved it. Of course, Tudor does something new and exciting with vampires, setting aside the cobwebbed clichés, and making it all very … real. Wherein vampire fiction always relies on overdone gaudy excess and shabby chic glamour, the vampyrs of Tudor’s imagination are second class citizens, barely surviving on government allotted reservations. You can draw your own sociopolitical parallels there. Tudor might be British, but she’s got America’s number down. Needless to say, in this reality, vampyrs and people do not get along. There are … situations. Occasionally, those escalate into something a lot more severe. But to call a cull on the entire colony requires a proper investigation. And the man protagonist if the novel does just that when she is requested on the case in the tiny remote Alaskan town. With the assistance of the long-retired-but-dusted-off-and-out-into-action local sheriff, she will navigate the mounting agitation between the two sides of the conflict, trying desperately to avoid the bloodshed. That’s the basic story, and Tudor did everything right with it. She brought both her characters and her setting to life vividly. The suspense was taut throughout. The murder mystery woven into the plot was clever and threw in some last-minute plot surprises. Barbara, the lead, was compelling and engaging. Ditto for the side characters. This was a book I didn’t want to put down. Be sure to visit the perfectly named Deadhart, Alaska. Great read, oodles of fun. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
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December 2023
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