Chiaroscuro: The Mouse and the Candle

By: Matthew S. Cox

Narrated by: Christopher James Mayer

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

God’s will be done.

After 11 years as a priest living by these words, Father Antonio Molinari never imagined who would teach his strongest lesson of faith - vampire.

As a member of a secret order within the Vatican, he investigates and debunks supernatural events. A case of possession brings him to the French countryside, where two local clergy offer him the chance of a lifetime. They claim to have captured a vampire, and beg his expertise in helping them study the fiend.

When their monster turns out to be a little girl, cursed to spend eternity hiding from the sun, he cannot bring himself to destroy her. The priests, mistaking his compassion for diabolism, panic, and his efforts to protect an innocent child prove fatal.

He awakes caught between light and darkness.

Hunted by the Church he once served as well as the fiends he once destroyed, Father Molinari clings to his faith there is still room for him in God’s plan.

But God is quiet, and the darkness tempting.

©2018 Matthew S. Cox (P)2019 Matthew S. Cox

An Incredibly Compelling and Emotional Story

I have to be honest, it took me quite some time to get into this book. I had a few starts and stops and just struggled to get on board. I finally decided to start fresh and listen to the whole story and I am really happy that I did. No idea why I struggled, but once it clicked I was in awe of the narration, story telling, and writing. This was a wonderful tale and is not like any other vampire tale I have read. I’m not a huge fan of vampire stories, however this one stands far away from your typical vampire story and is well worth listening to. This is a book that I will definitely revisit in the future.

The way the book is written made me think of some of the older classic horror novels. It definitely seems a bit out of place when compared to current vampire stories, but I would say that is the charm. Above all I really liked the plot. To me it was a love story between a father and his daughter. Sabine isn’t his daughter, but his drive to protect her and raise her to be a god-fearing vampire was beautiful. I thought the twist of religious vampires was quite neat. Their internal struggle to be who they are while also respecting God’s wishes was quite original. No spoilers, but the end was solid and quite emotional for me.

Father Molinari and Sabine were great characters. As a father, I had great respect for how Father Molinari worked with Sabine and did everything he could to protect her. I thought Sabine’s character was written exactly how an eight-year-old acts, and I can only assume that she looks just like Kirsten Dunst in that one vampire movie. I loved how over the years Father Molinari stayed static and almost shunned technology, while Sabine grew throughout the years and embraced the evolution of the aging world around her. I thought it was hilarious that Molinari thought TVs would be a fad while next thing you know Sabine is playing video games. The development of the characters throughout the timeline was amazing and gets you that much more intimate with them.

First time I had listened to Christopher James Mayer and I hope it won’t be my last. He has a great voice for narration and I really enjoyed his character voices. He definitely brought them all to life and made the story a lot of fun to listen to.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Loved it

A Humanizing story of Two god fearing vampires fighting the temptation to give in to the dark side
I liked that this takes place over centuries without feeling like your missing something
Great narration and not your typical vampires highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Brilliant 💜

This book was fascinating. It’s so much more than just another vampire book. A story of hope, trust & faith. A look at the background of vampires and their myths vs truths. You’re following the incredible journey of a little girl and a priest who are tested in many ways as to whether or not their faith in God is enough. This book was so engaging I couldn’t put it down.
The narration was absolutely amazing. I’m new to this narrator but not for long. To narrate nearly this entire book going back and forth between a little girl and a priest was amazing. Don’t get me started on his accents and different languages throughout this book absolutely brilliant.
I highly recommend this book!

Sisters Spotlight 💜

Surprising!

I received this from Audiobook Boom in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Not at all what I expected, and it was very good. This may sound strange in describing a "vampire" book, but there are hints of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo hidden in the story, especially when the main character is talking about redemption and God's work in a man's heart.

I really enjoyed this one.

Chiaroscuro

Father Antonio Molinari has been fighting evil for years when he comes across a little girl who has been cursed as a vampire. He cannot abide the torture of the child and while trying to protect her Father Antonio is himself turned into a vampire. Yet the things that should hurt him and the little girl do no harm to them and he must navigate this new world and his place in it. Throughout this book we see the years and the people that Father Antonio and the young girl encounter as the Father tries to find a way to help Sabine. He will never give up on that goal or his faith in God but is that enough for him to fulfill his mission?

I found this book to drawn out for me with no real character development. It is mostly seeing the Father try to acclimate to each new year and inventions as he tries to stay hidden from those hunting him. All is centered around him researching to find what he is looking for and the fights he has with the vampires. The story is based on his faith in his religion and soon becomes a very religious book that began to turn me off of the story. This book spans many years, and it becomes a tedious story that loses my attention, and I began to wonder just how long it would go on. The book only briefly goes into anything about the vampire world and centers around Father Antonio’s strength in his religion. Narrator Christopher James Mayer does a nice job of moving the narrative along and letting some emotions be heard through the characters.

I received this audiobook at my request and I voluntarily wrote a review.

The Mouse and the Candle

This was a hard book for me to figure out. First of all, it was not horror. It dealt with creatures of horror, but this was almost a fictional, biographical account of a man and his creator (and Creator) and the attempt to make amends with both. I enjoyed the story and the characters. The narration was good as well.

This audiobook was given to me at my request for my free and unbiased review.

Unique unlike modern day vampire fiction

Over many years I have read a lot of vampire fiction. I grew up reading the Anne Rice chronicles and in later years the twilight series. When twilight became so commercialised I think that vampire fiction lost direction. Every book I read afterwards was over romancisised and aimed completely towards the teen girl market. I love this book because it has rediversified and is again more reminicient to the classics. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that the novel covers such a large lifespan . I was completely immersed and loved the feel of the book and the emotions behind it . I was given this book by the author/narrator in return for an honest and unbiased review