It surprised me to discover that this novel was originally written in 1991. It has survived the passage of time remarkably well. It's the first nove..Show More »l in a series of five books by Tanya Huff which involve a former police officer-turned private investigator and the vampire son of Henry VIII who solve supernatural crimes together.

It's not a johnny-come-lately on the vampire novel scene; it was one of the earlier prototypes and works well. The private investigator, her former ex-boyfriend police officer, and the vampire who writes bodice rippers team up to solve a string of violent crimes which have been plaguing Toronto.

As a Canadian, I'm pleased to see/hear a series set in Toronto, and though I'm not from Toronto, the depiction is well done.

A series of what appear to be murders by a vampire takes roots in the city, and as the story hums along, it becomes clear that it's actually a demon who's terrorizing the city, and not a vampire. The book is as long as it needs to be.

The story is well written and engaging. It does't feel particularly dated, although the references to a Hibachi and the lack of cell phones make more sense now that I know it was written in 1991.

The narrator is okay but not great. Her attempt to depict male voices often comes off with an odd accent or intonation. She's a breathy narrator, and her vocal intonations are a little irritating. As with many narrators, she pauses in the wrong places and ends up fragmenting the narration. She can probably be forgiven for mispronouncing Manulife, but not for some of the other words she butchers. With a different narrator, this would be an even better book, but it's not bad. To the narrator's credit, she does a very good job depicting the empty-headed university students in the book.

It's certainly well enough done that I have purchased books 2 and 3 in the series. If the other books in the series are as good as this one, it should have a strong following. The ideas are original and inventive, and the dialogue and descriptions are well done.

This is a good book for fans of the supernatural series; it's lighter on romance than some, but that's not a bad thing. It's worth the credit.

« Show Less