Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993)

Reader's Annotation

Vampire hunter Anita Blake is hired to find out who has been murdering innocent vampires.

Summary

Anita Blake lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, but it's not exactly our Saint Louis. In Anita's world, magic, vampires, werewolves, and the like are and have always been "out of the closet."  Anita is an animator with the ability to raise and lay to rest zombies. She also works as a vampire executioner; however, in her world, vampires have rights just like anyone else. That means she needs a court order to kill one.

At the story's open, Jean-Claude, master vampire and proprietor of the vampire strip-club Guilty Pleasures, tries to hire Anita to investigate a recent string of vampire murders—the vampires were the victims NOT the perpetrators—but Anita isn't interested; she doesn't like vampires and would much rather be killing them. Jean-Claude, who literally cannot take no for an answer, must blackmail her into taking the job.

Anita finds herself working for Nikolaos, the master vampire of the city. She is a thousand years old, very powerful, and looks like a prepubescent girl. She is not a good boss.

In the curse of her investigation, Anita befriends Philip, a human vampire junkie who strips at Guilty Pleasures. When Nikolaos' minions torture and kill Phillip then bring him back as a zombie, Anita vows to bring Nikolaos down.

By story's end, Anita has not only stopped the vampire killer but also, with Jean-Claude's aid, destroyed Nikolaos, leaving Jean-Claude master vampire of the city.

Evaluation

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick fun read. The writing and plot have a bit of the clunkiness of a first novel but I'd definitely read another. The world of the novel goes beyond just vampires and seems to have the potential to grow into something rich and complex as the series progresses. And I expect to see Anita Blake's relationship with Jean-Claude grow into something more as well. The tone of the writing is hard-boiled with a fair bit of violence, blood, and sex.

If you like this book, you should try Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance, Paranormal Romance

Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (2007)

Reader's Annotation

Half-vampire Cat hunts vampires hoping one day to kill the one that fathered her.

Summary

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield hunts vampires—any vampires. They're all evil, according to her mother—especially the one that raped her and fathered Cat! Then one day, Cat tries to kill a vampire so old and experienced that she might just as well have been a kitten. But the ancient vampire—Bones is his name—doesn't kill her. Instead he agrees to train her in the art of vampire killing, IF she will agree to kill only evil vampires—the ones he says are evil. Soon she is ready, and together they begin to hunt. As she and Bones fight side by side, Cat begins to think that Bones may not be so evil after all—she may even have feelings for him! But as Cat's feelings for Bones' grow, she worries that her mother will never understand.

Evaluation

I enjoyed this one and intend to try more in the series. The characters are likable—especially Bones—and the action is fun and suspenseful. The world seems likely to develop a richness as the series progresses—ghosts have already been added into the mix. The book does have a good bit of sex and violence including vampiric blood exchange but the descriptions of vampiric sex are brief and don't become tedious as they do in some other vampire romances—at least for my tastes.

If you like this book, you should try Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance

The Perfect Husband

The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner (1998)

Reader's Annotation

What if the perfect man you married turned out to be a human monster?

Summary

Tess thought police officer Jim Beckett was the perfect white knight who would save her from her abusive father, but after two years of marriage, she knew that he was something far worse. After Tess provided enough evidence to put him away for brutally murdering ten women, Beckett hunted her down and nearly killed her. 

Now he's escaped from prison, and Tess fears the police won't be able to protect her any better than they did the last time. She turns to alcoholic, ex-mercenary J.T. Dillon for help. He helps her learn to protect herself while she helps him come to terms with his failure to protect his sister from their own abusive father. Together they deal with the seemingly unstoppable Jim Beckett.

Evaluation

This was a suspenseful and involving horror story of a human monster and at the same time a romance between two people who were damaged in very similar ways. Serial killer Jim Beckett served as the perfect cathartic stand-in for their respective fathers. The writing had its flaws but the story kept me interested to the very end. This is one of Gardner's earlier efforts; from the reviews on Amazon, I suspect that her writing has improved since. I would certainly try another in her FBI Profiler series. If you are bothered by graphic violence and explicit sex, you should avoid this novel.

Those who enjoy this novel should try the suspense novels of Thomas Harris, which include Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Romance
Subgenres: Human Monster, Serial Killer, Romantic Suspense

Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King (2009)

Reader's Annotation

When an invisible force field seals Chester's Mill off from the world, the good people  pull together, but to "Big Jim" Rennie it's an opportunity to grab power.

Summary

When the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine is mysteriously sealed off by an invisible and completely impenetrable force field, the results are like nothing anyone could have imagined. Planes and cars crash into the invisible barrier. Family members are stranded on opposite sides. Even worse, as long as the Dome is up, no new resources will be coming in from outside: no food, no gasoline, no propane, no medicines. "Big Jim" Rennie, used car dealer and town selectman, sees this situation as the perfect opportunity to grab power. As Rennie expands the police force into his own private band of thugs, he is opposed by Iraq War hero Dale Barbara and a few of the town's more sensible citizens. When opposition becomes open conflict, destructive fires poison the Dome's limited atmosphere. Dale Barbara and his friends must race to discover the secret of the mysterious Dome before it's rendered completely uninhabitable.

Evaluation

I can only compare this recent novel to King's earlier novel The Stand. Like that novel, Under the Dome is a big sprawling book with a huge cast of characters. And like The Stand, it is an allegory of our society in microcosm. Few writers could pull off a novel with this many characters and keep them interesting and worthy of our attention. The only other writer I've read recently who can do this is George R.R. Martin, whose epic fantasy Game of Thrones has a similarly large cast of interesting characters.

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Subgenres: Disaster, Human Monster

Heart-Shaped Box

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (2007)

Reader's Annotation

A retired death-metal rocker buys a dead man's suit for his collection of the macabre—ghost included according to the seller.

Summary

Retired death-metal rocker Judas Coyne has two collections: one of the grotesque and bizarre, the other of the current and former girlfriends he likes to call by their states of origin. When Jude buys a dead man's suit—complete with ghost according to its online seller—for the first collection, it turns out to be connected to his second collection as well. The ghost is Craddock McDermott, step-father of Jude's former girlfriend Florida (real name: Anna). McDermott blames Jude for Anna's death and is bent on destroying him and anyone who cares for him. After Jude's personal assistant Danny hangs himself under Craddock's malevolent influence, Jude and his current girlfriend Georgia (real name: Marybeth) drive south to confront Anna's sister, who tricked Jude into buying the ghost, and to discover the truth behind Anna's apparent suicide. As he faces the ghost's threat to himself and to Marybeth, whom he now realizes he loves, Jude must also confront his past and his own personal demons.

Evaluation

At the start of this book, I was not sure I would like either Judas Coyne or his girlfriend Georgia/Marybeth, but, as the story unfolded and I got to know them better, I came to like them and to fear for their survival. Both are complex characters with difficult and painful pasts, who are better people than they realize, and both change for the better in the course of the story. Joe Hill has written that rarity, a character-driven horror novel. Hill may be even better than his famous father Stephen King at creating complex and interesting characters. And like his father, Hill is a master of the small details that bring a narrative to life. Much of the creepiness of the novel comes from Hill's very visual descriptions—the black marker scribbles covering the eyes of ghosts for example.

This novel isn't for everyone. Those who prefer a plot-driven story may find it slow to develop. Those who dislike disturbing imagery and crude language will want to avoid it.

If you liked Heart-Shaped Box, you should try Hill's second novel Horns. The novels of Joe Hill should appeal to fans of Stephen King and vice-versa.

Genres: Horror
Subgenres: Supernatural Horror

The Overnight

The Overnight by Ramsey Campbell (2005)

Reader's Annotation

The fog never lifts at the newest TEXTS mega bookstore. Damp fog things shift books, and blurry print spreads like a fungus as staff begin to die.

Summary

Woody, an American, was recently transferred to England to open a new branch of TEXTS, the American mega bookstore, but there's something strange about the new location: the fog never lifts and customers stay away in droves. Every morning books have been shifted about and are damp to the touch. Blurry print spreads to books and computer screens like a fungus. The store's first big inspection is fast approaching as one staff member is killed by a hit-and-run driver and another loses the ability to read. Woody's only hope to get the store in shape is to schedule all remaining staff to work overnight before the inspection.

Evaluation

The point of view changes with each chapter, cycling through all the staff members of the bookstore. As a result, the book gets off to a slow start. I found it hard to get to know and identify with the many characters enough to develop sympathy for them, especially when many of the characters come off as rather unlikable. Nevertheless, the story does pick up, and I do come to like several of the characters enough to care what happens to them. The events and imagery are very creepy and atmospheric, and the novel comes to a satisfying conclusion. I would recommend this book to those who like lots of creepy imagery and enjoy visualizing a book like a movie. Those who like more complexly realized and sympathetic characters may be disappointed. Readalike authors are Dean Koontz and, to a lesser degree, Stephen King.

Genres: Horror
Subgenres: Supernatural Horror