Horror/Ghost/Vampire Recent Picks

July 2010

The underlined titles will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

Bullet : an Anita Blake, vampire hunter novel, Laurell K. Hamilton. (2010)
"Anita Blake is back in St. Louis and trying to live a normal life-as normal as possible for someone who is a legal vampire executioner and a U. S. Marshal. There are lovers, friends and their children, school programs to attend. In the midst of all the ordinary happiness a vampire from Anita's past reaches out. She was supposed to be dead, killed in an explosion, but the Mother of All Darkness is the first vampire, their dark creator. It's hard to kill a god. This dark goddess has reached out to her here-in St. Louis, home of everyone Anita loves most. The Mother of All Darkness has decided she has to act now or she will never control Anita and all the vampires in America." (Amazon)

Nice girls don't live forever, Molly Harper. (2010)
"Jane Jameson's sexy boyfriend Gabriel has always been unpredictable, but the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behaviour over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow, alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her. Now the children's-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colourful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane." (Amazon)

Dawn of the dreadfuls, by Steve Hockensmith ; illustrations by Patrick Arrasmith. (2010)
"This is the prequel to Seth Grahame-Smith's Jane Austen revamp Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The town of Meryton has grown quiet and complacent while the long-lived zombie menace lays dormant. Taking place five years before Bingley moves into Netherfield, and sightings of "unmentionables" have become routine, this story kicks off with a certain Mr. Ford sitting up in the middle of his own funeral. In response, the Bennet sisters begin intensive training in the deadly arts with their warrior father and a new Master. Their neighbours, much slower on the uptake, are variously dismembered, disillusioned, and eventually convinced to prepare for a terrifying final confrontation." (Amazon)

Shadowlight : a novel of the Kyndred, Lynn Viehl. (2009)
"With just one touch, Jessa Bellamy can see anyone’s darkest secrets, thanks to whoever tampered with her genes. What she doesn’t know is that a biotech company has discovered her talent and intends to kill her and harvest her priceless DNA. Gaven Matthias is forced to abduct Jessa himself so he can protect her, but Jessa has a hard time believing the one man whose secrets she can’t read. As a monstrous assassin closes in and forces them to run, Jessa will have to find another way to discover if Matthias is her greatest ally, or her deadliest enemy." (Amazon)

Red-headed stepchild, by Jaye Wells. (2009)
"In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina doesn't really fit in. And being an assassin, the only profession fit for an outcast, doesn't help matters. But she's never brought her work home, until now. Her latest mission is uncomfortably complex, and threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races. As Sabina scrambles to figure out which side she's on, she uncovers a tangled political web, some nasty facts about her family and some unexpected new talents. Any of these things could be worryingly life-changing, but together, they could be fatal." (Amazon)

Nice girls don't date dead men, Molly Harper. (2009)
"Once a devoted children's librarian, Jane Jameson now works at a rundown occult bookstore. Once a regular gal, she's now a vampire. And instead of a bride, she's an eternal bridesmaid, which leads her to question where exactly her relationship with her irresistibly sexy boyfriend, Gabriel, is headed. Mercurial, enigmatic, apparently commitment-phobic vampires are nothing if not hard to read. While Jane is trying to master undead dating, she is also donning the ugliest bridesmaid's dress in history at her best friend Zeb's Titanic-themed wedding. Between a freaked-out groom-to-be, his hostile werewolf in-laws, and Zeb's mother, hell-bent on seeing Jane walk the aisle with Zeb, Jane's got the feeling she's just rearranging the proverbial deck chairs." (Amazon)

Crouching vampire, hidden fang, Katie MacAlister. (c2009)
"For a woman married to the vampire of her nightmares, the honeymoon's over and reality bites. Pia Thomason is torn between two Dark Ones: her husband Kristoff, who doesn't trust her and his best friend, Alec. So Pia goes back to her humdrum Seattle life, but fate has other plans, and she realizes that if she and Kristoff are going to be shackled together for better or worse, she may as well start to enjoy it." (Amazon)

Hallowed circle, by Linda Robertson. (2010)
"Persephone Alcmedi has been persuaded to compete for the position of High Priestess of the Cleveland, Ohio, coven, now that the former priestess, Vivian Diamond, has strangely gone missing. Unfortunately, there are a few small problems with the idea. Not only does Seph know rather more about Vivian's disappearance than the other witches realize, but the epic struggle she's just survived has left her with some highly unusual powers, ones that could be dangerous to reveal." (Book cover)

Lover mine : a novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, J. R. Ward. (2010)
"John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown. Taken in by The Brotherhood, no one knew about his past or his true identity. Xhex has long steeled herself against the attraction to John Matthew. Until fate intervenes and she discovers that love, like destiny, is inevitable." (Amazon)

The mage in black, Jaye Wells. (2010)
"Sabina Kane doesn't have the best track record when it comes to family. After all, her own grandmother, leader of the vampire race, wants her dead. So when she arrives in New York to meet her mage relatives, the reunion puts the fun in dysfunctional. Not only is mage culture completely bizarre, but everyone seems to think she's some kind of 'Chosen' who'll unite the dark races. Sabina doesn't care who chose her, she's not into destiny. But the mages aren't Sabina's only problem. In New York's Black Light District, she has run-ins with fighting demons, hostile werewolves and an opportunistic old flame." (Amazon)

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