Moon Dance

Vampire for Hire, Book 1

By: J. R. Rain

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Mother, wife, private investigator... vampire. Six years ago, federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire.

Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn't exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head.

Blood money: listen to more in the Vampire for Hire series.

©2009 J.R. Rain (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Mother Vampire!

I knew I was going to connect with the antagonist of this story early on, when she tells her children: "If I hear any more loud voices, you will both be auctioned off on ebay." THIS, I knew, was an author who understood the essence of motherhood.

The book is full of interesting twists and new takes on the popular theme of vampirism and monsters. What I loved most was the believability and accuracy of the real world problems. She may be a "monster", but sometimes the hand can be far more monstrous and the monsters posses far more humanity and decency.

Good story!

I enjoyed this book. The story concept was unique in a nice twist for a vampire story.

Love it

i loved having a heroine that actually has real life issues on top of her crazy circumstances. looking forward to reading 2nd book.

Great New Series for Me !!!

I love the Jim Knighthorse series so thought I would give this book a try. J.R. Rain did not disappoint. Samantha Moon is a normal person just trying to survive life even though she isn’t technically alive anymore. The character is very well written and J.R. Rain does a great job of describing a normal life while at the same time weaving a mythology of werewolves and vampires into the mix. The mythology of the paranormal is so well written it doesn’t seem out of place in the modern story or too farfetched to be believed.

The imagery and scenery is very well described and helps paint a picture so much you could almost see Samantha’s office and house in your mind. I love Samantha’s relationship with her sister and was glad to see her sister love her while still wanting to be creeped out by the vampire thing. Her relationship with her husband was heartbreaking to read and you almost felt Samantha’s pain as the relationship deteriorated. I admire how Samantha did not lose her humanity or her motherly instinct – she truly loves her children and they are her anchor to the reality.

The mystery seems a little too easy and doesn’t add much to the story but that is okay because the focus of the book is on getting introduced to Samantha Moon’s world.

There were two downsides to the story to me and the first one was the werewolf thing was totally predictable and not surprising at all. The second one was the love story. I didn’t buy the love story though – it did not resonate with me at all. I totally felt like she had way more chemistry with the vampire hunter and the police detective than she did with Kingsley. Their romance just seemed like the author threw it in there at the last minute.

The narrator Dina Pearlman is fabulous and did a wonderful job with the voices so much so I never got confused about who was talking.

Overall a good story and kept me interested in continuing the series. Well done Mr. Rain.

parody hard boiled detective and vampire fiction

The rating was lower than it might have been had I known before starting it was parody. The main character being a vampire for 6 years and still ignorant of most things about vampires and a number of other things were annoying. Then it dawned on me: it's parody! It's not Mel Brooks outrageous just unexpected fun. I enjoyed the rest of book more trying to figure out the origins of things and did re-read parts of kindle book. Listened to and read from kindle unlimited.

2nd time around and it's still awesome!

i never finished this series bc at the time, there weren't as many books out as there are now. I'd loved everything i listened to back then, and now that I'm starting over again, there's so much more to look forward to! and so much I'd forgotten. i can't wait to experience it all again, and then some!
💗💗💗

Exceptionally talented author ...

I listen to sci-fi and fantasy books 10 hours a day ... have been a fan of the genres for 50 plus years .... needless to say, it's an uphill battle for me to find a new author who has the ability to write something I haven't read before .... my favorites being Drew Hayes (Hephaestus and Superpowereds), Vivian Shaw, Ilona Andrews (Innkeeper series only), Charlaine Harris (Midnight Crossroads only), Rob Thurman (Trick of the Light series only), and others I'm slowly discovering who have the same quality of INVENTIVENESS which is so lacking in the vast majority of the fantasy and urban paranormal books coming onto the market -- not complaining, those shallow books have their place as background listening in my life, but once in a while I come across a book I know I'll listen to many times .... and each time I listen to it, I will find little hints and tidbits and overlooked clues that I had missed up to that point. It takes a patient, clever author to get my attention and hold it. While a lot of listeners like the thrill of constant "action", and this isn't that kind of book, although there are shots and crossbow bolts and physical assaults, nothing too grisley, but enough to fit well into the story. And a lot of other books describe sexual encounters in great detail, which also can be fun to listen to ... but this story doesn't need that to hold your attention. This is a real urban paranormal, so real it seems like it could be your neighbors. The author has fleshed out the main character's life so deeply that I feel I know her, I feel her irritation and her frustration, and I'm way pissed at her husband.... this is a great character study, as well as a vampire and werewolf and vampire hunter story. I give this book the full 5 stars.

No idea why this book came up as romance

I read a lot of paranormal romance, and every once in a while I look for new to me authors. Somehow I found this book which is by no means a romance. There's a hit of romance, maybe? But it's not category romance.

The story was okay, I had a hard time following along and kept tuning out the book because it wasn't keeping my attention. If this book falls into genres that you like to read and you prefer lite storylines, then this book is for you.

Lovingly Biting

A vampire investigator, who happens to be a loving mother, with a cheating husband. That is the beginning for a very interesting story. Add a smooth, clear narration and one is taken on an entertaining ride. I can not wait to get to the next part of this journey.

I agree, a very nice surprise!

Nice enough that I am going to order book 2 :) I like the main character Mrs. Moon. I think her husband is a prick, and I hope he get what's coming to him soon, hopefully in book 2 lol Hummm I am trying not to give out in spoilers. Let’s just say you can definitely identify with Sam, the main character. I found myself completely in her corner and pulling for her. I am waiting for her to let loose a can of whoop a#% on Mr. Moon!