Reviews

Revenge and vampires play key roles in Burton's horror-mystery-thriller blend, which follows single mother Justine Kroft's attempts to kill the men who raped and murdered her teen daughter. When Justine's first attack goes awry, Simone Gireaux, a centuries-old French vampire, steps in at the last moment to rescue her, and Justine soon persuades Simone to turn her undead. What follows is a fast-paced, mildly entertaining vengeance quest that quickly broadens from a simple murder case to a conspiracy with sinister blood-sucker Stephan Sinakov at its core. Purple prose ("his eyes... glistened as if permanently ready to overflow with tears, as if hurt and sadness lurked behind them") and vampire cliches mar the narrative a bit, but tight plotting and memorable characters help keep the blood from completely congealing. (Oct.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.